By the time you are reading this, my family will be less than two weeks away from celebrating my great-aunt’s 100th birthday.
Aunt Marie is my grandpa’s younger sister, and they have been extremely close since they were kids. Both shared countless stories over the years about what it was like growing up on the family dairy farm that their father – my great-grandfather – established in our hometown after he emigrated from Sweden in the late 1800s. I’ve always been especially fascinated by their stories about farm life during the Great Depression. These stories reinforced four key traits that both Grandpa and Marie demonstrated extremely well throughout their lives: grit, determination, perseverance and the importance of family.
“Nobody had anything,” Marie often says. “All we had was each other, and we had to look out for each other.”
I firmly believe that people are the dairy industry’s greatest asset and that we need to take care of each other. That is relevant whether it is 1925, 2025 or 2125.
At the end of our lives, each of us will leave a legacy for others to remember us by. What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want to be remembered for? These are questions I’ve often thought about since Grandpa died in 2016. I think the most important thing we can leave behind is an example of how to live an extraordinary life and how to treat others.
In honor of Aunt Marie’s 100th birthday, I wanted to share three of the most important lessons I’ve learned from her related to how to create a life and legacy we can each be proud of today that will hopefully inspire others long into the future.
- Money is not everything, but how you treat someone is. The saying that people won’t always remember what you say but will remember how you made them feel is true. It’s a great reminder for all of us, whether we are interacting with family members, employees or people we don’t know in our communities. Along these lines, help others whenever possible. We are all in this together.
- Don’t wait for someday. Marie has told me multiple times that she cannot believe she is almost 100. She’s also told me how fast time goes. None of us know what could happen tomorrow, so don’t wait until retirement, summer or some other time to truly enjoy your life or to start working toward that goal. Start today. Enjoy your current reality. Nothing will be exactly the same in a year.
- Find a hobby and community. Marie has always loved gardening, and her yard was seriously a piece of art. The flowerbeds, garden and even the lawn always looked exquisite. She was a member of our town’s garden club for many years and became good friends with many fellow members. Finding like-minded people with similar interests is key.
I’ll add one more from Grandpa: the importance of having a reason to get up each morning. When he quit milking and sold the dairy cows, he bought beef cattle. It gave him a continued sense of purpose with a lot less work. Grandpa wanted to give our cows the best life he could, and that kept him going and fulfilled well into his 90s. Find whatever that looks like for you.
Cheers to an amazing June Dairy Month, and cheers to my great-aunt reaching a monumental milestone. Definitely a reason for some ice cream cake!
