Grandma's 100th Birthday

We just got back from our whirlwind trip to Tennessee to celebrate my Great Grandma's 100th birthday. It was a fast but fun trip and I'm so glad I went. I was on the verge of backing out at the last minute since I was sick, and Avery was sick, and I couldn't clear my ears and I didn't want to think about packing or flying. In the end I rallied and I'm happy I have those memories now. I learned a few things about my family, like that Grandma used to ride in a covered wagon (what?!!), some of her first dates were on horseback, and there used to be a town in Arkansas named for my family, established by my Great Great Grandfather. I wish I could ask Grandma more about her life, but her mind is mostly gone. When we first saw her, I said, "Can you believe all these people came to celebrate your 100th birthday?" she said she wasn't 100 yet and when I told her she was, she said, "Well my goodness! I can't believe I lived to be a hundred years old!" I don't know why I'm just now waking up to an interest in her life when there were dozens of years when I could have asked her about it. I have so many questions for her now that will never be answered. The coolest thing happened too: Grandma was in the elevator after her party and a nice woman heard it was her 100th birthday and gave her a hundred dollar bill! She told her to go get her nails done. She was the wife of one of the Cincinati Bengals. So awesome!