At 95 years old, Jean Stott is deserving of the Amazing Awesome title in every way.
I've been blessed to know Jean over a decade now. She the grandmother of one of my dear friends. I have always enjoyed getting to see and spend any amount of time with Jean because her energy is contagious. And if you do the math, she was already in her 80's by the time I met her!
I recently visited Jean and got to talk with her about some of that magic she has that makes her so Amazing - not only to me, but surely to anyone she meets.
Because the fondest memory I have of Jean is her getting down on the dance floor with my husband at her granddaughters wedding, my first inquiries had to be about her love of dancing!
Jean has been Polka dancing since the age of 10. And she didn't stop until last year. That is an 84 year love affair with dance! Polka!! And it took her to so many exciting places. She told me some of her best times revolved around dancing. She and her sister would actually organize weekend trips to the Catskill Moutains - chartering the bus, gathering the attendees, booking the Polka bands, reserving rooms at the hotel - and best of all she would bring baked goods and coffee along for the bus ride. She said the bus driver became friendly with them, and would put on their Polka CD's, encouraging everyone to sing! It was an amazing group of people, she said. It was a group of people who wanted to have fun!
Well, I know about the trickle down effect, and that things start at the top, so if Jean was in charge you'd have to be a miserable loaf not to have the time of your life.
She has traveled all around the world, mostly in retirement. Hawaii, Alaska, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Paris, Norway, Hungary, Austria, Australia, Israel, Canada, and of course Poland. She would go dancing in all those places, she said. Her last visit to Poland was only 6 years ago - she traveled there with a Polka band! She knew them from all of her previous dancing and traveling days. Jean probably knows more people than I ever will, and if meeting members of the band is the goal, I'm sure she's never had any trouble. She danced every day she was there during that last visit to Poland, she told me, and always has danced every chance she's gotten to. It's what's kept her young. "I was always the last one left on the dance floor at the end of the night!" Jean said.
I believe it Jean...!
A perfect story which sums up all of what I know about this woman takes place at a dinner cruise, or trip she had taken. "There we were, all sitting around eating our food, listening to music. 'I came here to have fun!', I told the friend I was with. So I got up from my seat, and started a conga line. One at a time, people got up and followed. That's what you have to do sometimes, you have to start the fun. Otherwise, you're just a bunch of people sitting down eating your dinner."
I honestly think I could end this blog post right here after that statement, and you would already get the full effect of why I love this lady!!
A testament to her positive outlook, Jean shared with me a story of when she was in Israel. She had just boarded a sight-seeing boat on the Jordan River, on a beautiful sunny day. Yet just as they left shore, it began to rain. People got upset, she said, they were bothered about the weather, that it was ruining the trip. But she disagreed. "We are in Israel. This isn't rain. This is the Lord, He's baptizing us!" And Jean did actually get baptized when she was there. She loved being there, because it is sacred, she told me.
If she could turn bad weather into a Holy event that day, I do believe God was smiling.
Also since retirement, I've known Jean to take weekend bus trips to Atlantic City to gamble, folk dance with a group and actually get paid for it, and volunteer 3 days a week for just about 25 years at the Hospice gift shop. "I love people", she said to me, "and I think I've helped make a lot of people happy." She was mostly referring to her weekend trips to the Catskills, where they would "party all weekend", but I know the statement goes for just about anyone who's ever met her.
At one point in her earlier years, Jean was working 3 jobs. AT&T, Catering, and at a Polish Club. When I asked her what she did at the Polish Club, she answered, "Bar tending, naturally!" As if to say, what else would I be doing there?!
Oh, did I mention she has 3 tattoo's? That's not the best part. The best part is that all of them were done after the age of 90...!!!
Jean did stop dancing about a year ago. Her 95th birthday almost killed her, she said. She had pneumonia, and it knocked her hard. But then more came to light. She found out she had a brain tumor. "I didn't cry. I haven't cried about it since", she told me. "God has given me 95 good years. It is what it is and I can't change it. I'm happy just like it is, Erin, I am."
I asked Jean what gives her inspiration now. Now that she has had to stop dancing, which has brought her so much joy, and stop bowling, which she also loved. Even knitting is difficult for her because of arthritis. "You know what inspires me? That doctor. He removed 90% of the tumor in my brain. He said he wouldn't normally operate on someone my age, but for me he did - I had stamina, he said. And even when his job was done, and I was off to a new doctor for radiation, he said he still wanted to see me, and visit with me. You have to love that man. That a person could do that for me - that gives me inspiration."
What I thought to myself when she was telling me this was, No Jean - you are the one inspiring the doctor.
"And you know what has been the biggest blessing of all? My daughter. The way she cares for me... and my granddaughter. They have supported me and held me up so much. The biggest thing is that I don't like them to see me suffer." She went on to talk about her great grandson who brings her so much joy - the fourth generation.
What I think, and have always thought about Jean, is that any joy she receives is but a tenth of the joy she has spread, literally- all around the world.
God bless you Jean, and may we all have a time or two in our lives where we spice up a dull dinner party by starting a conga line.
