Lunch Out

Today, we ate out.  The thing about my healthy 98 year old mother-in-law is: she can eat.  Most seniors seem to slow down as they age.  I don't know why, but they do.  My mother-in-law is no different than my children and they eat a LOT.  At the Chinese buffet today, my elderly, tiny, skinny mother-in-law ate roast chicken, two helpings of ribs (I have mentioned she loves ribs), fried rice, cole slaw, fried chicken, coconut cream pie, rice crispy squares and macaroons.  Sometimes, it is a marvel to just to watch her.  She has no teeth but she gets it all down.  And, she follows it up with a cup of tea at the end of her meal.  When I think of why people live for a long time, I cannot help but look at her and think: they eat.  Her whole life is a matter of what to eat, when to eat and how to get what has been eaten out of the system.  Further, except for the forays out to restaurants, my mother-in-law eats really good food: nothing processed, not much meat and tons and tons of fruit, coated with sugar, and vegetables, dripping in butter.  I don't think it is a planned diet--more a continuation of how she has always eaten.  The children watch her eat and we pretty much eat the same diet with more meat and less sugar and butter.  I think the kids take her behaviour for granted and are surprised when they encounter other seniors who don't eat quite as much.  All of the children cook and they know their grandmother will eat anything they bake anytime of day.  She has favourites: peanut butter cookies, butter tarts, homemade ice cream; but, she turns nothing down if sugar is involved.  It does make her a pleasant house guest as she will eat anything if it comes with dessert.