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| Ms. Priester and my daughter at her breakfast table |
A brand new, shiny silver Volvo (speeding through the neighborhood) and a cold glass of white wine are the two things that come to mind when I think of my 94-year-old next-door neighbor, Mrs. Ruth Priester. When we first moved in beside her, we made the mistake of addressing her as Ms. Ruth. She asked my husband, "could we please call her Ms. Priester? because only two people had ever addressed her as Ms. Ruth and one of those was a janitor." This comment is representative of her attitude about everything, from the rearing (and scolding) of our children to her strict aversion to the kitchen and anything having to do with cooking. Her housekeeper, Alma, cooks all her meals.
Ms. Priester drives herself to the "pavilion" to exercise and then to the latest movie on a Friday night. She also frequently dines with friends at one of the nicest restaurants in town. Most days, she has company visiting and every Thursday afternoon, the young daughter of former neighbors comes for a tea party. I have witnessed the tea party fare and it is lovely....Haagen Dazs ice cream, served in a crystal parfait glass and topped with Le Petit Ecolier biscuits. There have been many times that we have called Ms. Priester and she simply could not talk because she was entertaining a guest at the moment.
As most of our friends know, my husband and I love to cook and try new recipes......so when we find a new recipe, we pack up pots, pans, ingredients, kids and diaper bags and walk the 15 steps or so, over to Ms. Priester's kitchen and fire up her stove top. She always sets her breakfast table (that is pictured above) with her best dishes and flatware. Once the recipe is cooked, we sit down to dinner. Over dishes such as pecan-crusted trout, roasted dijon chicken and sweet potatoes, and kale hash, we talk about so many interesting things. For some reason, she is truly interested in our life.
When I asked Ms. Priester her secret for living such a long and healthy life, she simply replied "good genes". Any day I ask her how she is doing, she says "better than I deserve". What a truly inspiring 94-year-old lady!
