I have had a great life.  I haven't done everything that I have wanted, but I have had some great experiences... and I'm not done, at least I hope not.  And I hope that I have a good bit more life to live. 

But I'll tell you what... I have learned that there is a LOT to learn.  A great way to learn is to take the advice and counsel of those with more experience.  I know that sitting with my Grandmother was always an adventure in learning.  She had the experience of raising two children during the depression and World war II... part of that time as a single mother.  I lost her in 2007, at the age of 93, but I also video-taped a few of our conversations. 

Before that, I was able to hear a few stories from Aunt Nettie.  She died in 1976, at the age of 96.  She was my grandmother's aunt.  She had been a businesswoman in a time when women weren't in business...  A rail agent when women weren't rail agents...  And she had stories from her dad... who fought in the Civil War.  She lost a sister in the Spanish American War. I tried to learn to bake cinnamon rolls from her, but she didn't really have a recipe... I got my rolls up to ok, but she had been making hers for almost 90 years. 

Closer to home, you might wander over to An Octogenarian's Blog.  Anne Cleveland, an Atlanta area resident discovered blogging and has been hammering out the posts.  I haven't met her, and she isn't family... but she is opinionated... and not afraid of it.  that was one of the fun things about talking with my Grandmother and Aunt Nettie... they did NOT filter their thoughts.  They delivered some harsh criticisms because they didn't have time for crap. 

While it is fun to read the sage wisdom of our peers... save a little time for some sage advice from somone that has been around longer than the block.  And try to capture some of those great stories from people in the family.