Lessons from Lil

My grandmother is one of my greatest heroes.

Lillian Silverberg, otherwise known as L’il Lil, has been my hero and role model for as long as I can remember.

Despite the fact that she is 91 years in age, I still have a hard time thinking of her as “old”. She is young in spirit, open-minded and positive. She still reads the paper and goes for walks every day. She is a great example of someone who makes the most of every single day.

L’il Lil has taught me so much throughout my life and I am blessed to have a grandmother like her to look up to, and learn from, on a daily basis.

As a way to remember, and pay tribute to, everything she has taught me I decided to highlight some of the most valuable lessons I have learned from her:

• Take life one day at a time: there is no sense worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow hasn’t come yet. Live in the present and take things one step at a time. “So all is as good as it can be? …that’s all we can hope for.”
• Make the most of each day: time flies by quickly, which is why it’s so important to take a step back and appreciate all of the beautiful things in your life. Live life to the fullest because you never want to look back and say “if only I had…”
• Hold on to the good days & throw away the bad ones: although we can’t control many things that happen in our lives, we can control our perspective. Lil believes in seeing the glass as half full; “Take the good days and keep them in your memory and toss the bad days away”
• Even when it rains, think of the sun: when life throws obstacles our way, and things seem to be going poorly, sometimes all it takes is a positive memory to help us get out of the slump. When things go wrong, it is important to remember that terrible things have happened before and we have gotten through them. It’s important to always keep our resilience in the back of our minds, especially during tough times.
• Life never goes according to plan: being flexible and adaptable can dramatically improve our ability to cope with the obstacles and changes that we never anticipated or hoped for, but are bound to present themselves throughout our life. “Man plans and god laughs. That’s why you always have to keep your chin up; it’s the most we can do.”
• Getting old isn’t easy: Even at the age of 91 my grandma is still with it. She is cognizant of her aging and is able to clearly express how tough it can be to lose friends, memories, and abilities. When looking at pictures of herself she’ll say to me “who is that old lady? I don’t know her!” Through Lil, I have come to realize how hard it can be to accept that you are limited. It’s not easy getting old, but having a positive attitude makes all the difference.