Doris "Granny D" Haddock

Last week I wrote a post about the 85 year-old woman I met at the fitting room at Ross, and a couple of days later I saw a film about Granny D Haddock, a most remarkable 97 year-old woman. I'm sure the fact that these incredible women are crossing my path is no accident. I think that as I realize situations in which I'm not that girl anymore I'm being shown what kind of "girl" I can be.

There is a documentary currently running on HBO called, Run Granny Run. Run Granny Run" is a film about a woman named, Doris Haddock; known fondly as "Granny D", who ran for Senator of New Hampshire in 2004 when she was 94 years-old. If you get the opportunity to see this film, by all means do.

There are many interesting things about Doris "Granny D" Haddock:
-when she was 50 she and her husband successfully campaigned against hydrogen bomb nuclear testing in Alaska.
-when she was 89, she walked from California to Washington D.C. in order to raise awareness for the need for campaign finance reform.
-when she was 94, she ran for the Senate of New Hampshire against the incumbent, Judd Gregg. While Doris "Granny D" Haddock didn't win, she got 34% of the vote which was not bad for a woman who was determined not to take any special interest money.

So as my 50th birthday looms on the horizon in 2008, I see women like Doris "Granny D" Haddock and the energetic queen of the fitting room and I find myself sort of relaxing into my future.

When I was younger the idea of being 50 was scary, and not something I could even fathom but I'm not that girl anymore.