My 96-Year-Old Aunt Just Turned 24

     My aunt Esther has lived ninety-six years, yet she just turned twenty-four.     
     She’s a “leaper,” one of those folks born on February 29, so her birthdate appears on the calendar only every four years, which is a convenient way to slice her age by a quarter.     
     And here’s the kicker: Esther wasn’t expected to live for a day when she was born a premie, weighing less than three pounds.     She’s overcome other challenges, too: growing up in the poverty of the Great Depression in rural Waco, Texas; entering business school in Dallas as a single woman when women in careers was rare; marrying a World War II veteran with PTSD; shouldering the sudden death of a daughter; and overseeing her husband’s weekly dialysis for eight years prior to his death.     
     Yet when I asked her by phone about these challenges, she just laughed heartily from her home in Dallas. “Don’t worry about what’s coming next. You have to take one day at a time and one problem at a time,” she said.     
     “My friends, my faith, and my prayers have gotten me through.” Her laugh rang out again. “Playing bridge four times a week helps, too.”      
     Somewhere along the way, I think Esther heeded the advice of Frank Sinatra, her era’s crooner, and learned how to stay young at heart.     
     I haven’t been tossed about by life’s tumultuous riptides as Esther has. Yet her hard-earned lessons urge me to ask, “How can I stay young at heart?”     
     Maybe I need to take up bridge.     
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     Please share. Frank Sinatra’s croon-worthy song is here.