Ode to Betty White

What’s not to love about the cute, funny, warm, lovable, always smiling, always positive, always optimistic, Betty White?

I first got acquainted with her during the original airing of The Golden Girls that my Mom would watch back when I was a kid.

And although I wasn’t totally tuned in at that age, I would always chuckle at the ditzy personality and silly antics of our beloved Rose.

As the years continued, Betty got older, but only seemed to be getting better. She kept us smiling and cracking up with her hilarious comedic appearances throughout the years.

She was always a riot and her comedic timing was unmatched.

And while I know she is the poster child for the quintessential well-lived life, I am disappointed that she didn’t make it to the ripe old age of 100.

Betty was just two weeks shy of her 100th birthday. She had just appeared on the cover of People magazine that stated, Betty White Turns 100, just a couple of days before her death.

I remember thinking not too long ago that I missed seeing her and hadn’t seen her in a while. I recently found out that this was due to her staying indoors due to the Covid virus.

Her appearance on this cover days before her death is so ironic and eerie. And what is also very weird is that the day before her death, I recently saw a quote from her about her being in such good health, after not hearing from her in what seemed like forever.

I’m sure she would have been back in the media, doing press runs, and making us all smile and laugh again in celebration of her 100th birthday.

I even heard that she was preparing for a 100th birthday bash!

But…such is life. Life is unpredictable and the creator has a way of letting us know that he is the only one truly in control.

We can promise, plan, and predict, but only he has the final say.

But the amazing Betty White wouldn’t want us feeling sad and down in the dumps about her ironic passing.

Knowing her, she’d be giving us all her signature dimpled smile and somehow finding humor in the irony of it all.

Here are three longevity lessons we can learn from this icon as relayed in an article written by Sarah Crow titled, 3 Major Secrets to Living to 99, According to Betty White, at eatthis.com:

Being an optimist served the beloved Ms. White well throughout the duration of her life. As I stated, she was always smiling, always happy, and always joking. As we know, stress is a huge factor in the process of rapid aging and the onset of age-related disease. By always staying positive and finding the humor in life, Betty no doubt kept the stress monster at bay.

Betty was also a firm believer in the beauty of just “enjoy[ing] life.” In the magazine article, Betty was quoted as saying,”Accentuate the positive, not the negative. It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about, rather than say, ‘Hey, that was great!’ It’s not hard to find great stuff if you look.” Ms. White always focused on the best that life had to offer, rather than the setbacks.

Betty’s passion for her work also seems to be a huge contributing factor to her longevity. You could see how happy she was when she was working and making people laugh. Betty said of her work, “I don’t have any secrets for staying sprightly, but people just keep coming to me with great projects and I can’t say no.” I have no doubt that Betty’s passion for her work was indeed one of the secrets to her longevity.

In the same article, Betty joked about loving “vodka” and “hotdogs” and having no real healthy eating regimen.

And while I think living a healthy lifestyle is a very important factor in the fight against aging and living a long, healthy life, I think being happy, optimistic, and having meaningful and purposeful work that we enjoy is just as important.

I’m going to miss Ms. White. But I know she’ll continue to bring us joy and happiness in our hearts and minds and in the countless videos we have of her. May we all live lives as great and meaningful as the one she lived. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!