Winter 2009

Aging Well: My Mom's 80th High School Reunion

Co-founder of the Vermont Country Store, Mildred Ellen Orton, at her 80th high school reunion, pictured with son, Lyman.

This past June, I escorted my mother, class of 1928, to her 80th reunion at Burr & Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont, where I also graduated in 1959. None of her classmates survives, but being a small school, all classes celebrate on the same night so the gym was packed. As much as it was a thrill for Mildred Ellen, whom the headmaster said was the only 80th attendee they ever had, I felt a greater excitement from the crowd, who gave Mother a standing ovation and formed a constant stream of well-wishers at our table.

At 97, my mother still lives in Weston in the home she and my dad bought in 1936 and where I grew up. A crew of local women shares shifts staying with her and she is at peace being home, in her community, although she gets feisty when she senses being controlled too much. This is a lesson I learned some years ago: I don't control my mother any more than I want my sons to control me. Other than keeping the con-men at bay I leave her alone with her choices. Except I do "coach" her to walk, instead of ride, the 500 yards over to the store. Grumbling the whole way, she insists she can't make it — but she always does and is proud of the achievement.

Leading health care professionals understand the importance to both elders and their communities of what has become a movement: Aging in Community or Aging Well. Thanks to the success of our store we are able to provide this to Mildred. But our ambition is greater. We seek to culturally honor all elders by making "staying home" far more achievable. The Holy Grail is to instill in communities elements and culture that attract a broad span of ages, accommodating all as we age. Aging In Community is an idea that needs to grow, and we are behind it one hundred percent.

Lyman Orton for The Orton Family