ur gorgeous spread about super nans (Page 62) had all of us talking about the grannies in our life. And it turns out that as well as being very special people, they are team members. Lizzy’s yiayia, who is 83, can still touch her toes and loves keeping herself active. ‘She won’t go a day without using the gym equipment in her local park,’ said Lizzy. Of course, the rest of us all then tried touching our toes, with varying results. Our pic researcher Holly wailed, ‘I’m 28 and I can’t touch my toes!’ It’s not just physical pursuits that the grandmothers in our lives excel at. Jude’s mum Joan, who’s 92, takes herself to book club and poetry group every week and loves going to concerts in her local area. ‘Mum never fails to surprise me,’ said Jude. ‘I’ll tell her I might be dropping in for a visit and she’ll say she’d love to see me, but she’s going to a folk club that night. She’s an inspiration!’ Another ‘oldie’ in Jude’s life drove herself to her 100th birthday party. ‘She was still around for her 104th!’ said Jude. My own mum, Sally, is definitely an inspiration for me. She’s 87 this month and at latest count could skip 36 times without stopping. She’s a regular on her mini-tramp and the rowing machine that sits on her and Dad’s verandah. ‘I can’t imagine not being active,’ Mum says, while gently chiding me if she thinks I’m not getting enough exercise myself! I hope you are as inspired as I have been by all these stories. If you know an inspiring Mum or Nan she could be our Mum of the Year. See page 17 for details.
