Stories of A Lifetime
Life lessons from the older generations
“Plan for the future but live for the present!” That’s what Winnie told me. Winnie is an older woman in her 80s, back in 2019 I interviewed her at the retirement home she lives at. Winnie had a lot of great stories to share but I want to focus on what she told me about living in the moment.
I asked Winnie what advice she would give to her grandkids, she said “enjoy everyday, love everyday, enjoy the now… you have to plan for the future, but don’t let everything go just for the future.” That was one of her regrets, always worrying about the future and not fully enjoying the present. Winnie had grown up very poor, and the fear of not having enough money stuck with her for her entire life. She told me she would never go out to eat, never take vacations, never spend money when it wasn’t necessary. She told me stories of her childhood, making dresses out of chicken feed sacks, and making paper dolls out of magazine cut outs. This strict budget continued even when she had a career and earned a good living. It’s easy to see why she always had that minimalist mindset. This was not unusual for people her age that grew up during the great depression.
Finding Balance
Earlier in the interview I asked Winnie if she got the chance to travel much and she told me the story of her trip to China a few years ago. She had a great time but said she never traveled much until she retired. She reiterated her point and said to “travel while you can.” It is important to be responsible with your time and money while you are young, but you also shouldn’t hoard it all for the future. That’s the lesson I learned from Winnie. You have to learn to find balance in making the most out of everyday and setting yourself up for success in the future. There is no right answer for how to do this, everyone’s priorities are different, but it is something we should think about daily.
