JourneyOnline
"I’m glad I learnt to swim because we got a new swimming pool."
Kell Jones, 9, Indooroopilly Uniting Church
"Be very specific in your prayers and one we get told all the time, but I learnt the hard way: do not drive tired!"
Kate Wilson, 22, Iona West Uniting Church evening congregation
"Don’t wait for someone to give you permission to say ‘no’ to something or else you will end up being so preoccupied with
trying to keep everyone else happy that you don’t realise that it is at the expense of your own happiness. This doesn’t make you a martyr, it just makes you unhappy."
Anna Mulcahy, 26, Pomona Uniting Church
"Take the plastic off the meat before you put it in the oven. Write the deceased’s name on every page of your funeral notes. But more seriously, when I was growing up I had an autograph book and I always remember the entry my grandmother put in: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable –if anything is excellent or praise worthy–think about such things” Phil 4:8. I reckon that’s a pretty good life principle."
Rev Anne Harley, 57, Mount Louisa House of Praise, Townsville
"My biggest life lesson was being a registered nurse and coming through the First and Second World War and seeing the changes it made in the world – some for the better and some for worse. I also believe it’s important to keep life simple. I enjoy growing my own vegetables and keeping up with current affairs and what’s going on in the world. I’m happy to say at 107 I still have all my faculties and bearings about me."
Audrey Winkler, 107, Blue Care Talleyhaven Aged Care Facility, Gold Coast, resident
"My greatest life lesson would be the importance of staying in contact with your family and always enjoying the time you spend with them. Keeping up with the little ones as they come along and having them come visit you, keeps you young. I am very close with everyone in my family and know I can always rely on them if I need anything."
Joan Bÿster, 87, Blue Care’s Sandgate Respite Care client
Photo : Blue Care Sandgate Community Care Nurse Manager Karen Mackin and Blue Care Sandgate Respite Care client Joan Bÿster share a laugh. Photo courtesy of Blue Care
