90 Plus: 93-year-old Lafayette woman grateful for her family
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- Margaret Childress of Lafayette is 93-years-old and proud of it.
Childress said she feels "like a million dollars. I really and truly do."
"I got a brother who is 90-years-old. It's just the two of us alive out of six children," Childress stated.
Margaret is the oldest of the six. Plus, she's the mother of four.
"I got grandchildren and great-grandchildren," Childress added.
Margaret has a philosophy about raising children.
"If you start out raising them right, it will turn out right. Look at what they're doing for me."
She explained how she raised her children according to the way she was taught by her parents.
"I tried to teach each one of them how to cook, sew, wash, iron and make a living for themselves when they got older," Childress said.
Margaret was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1945, the family moved to Michigan.
According to her granddaughter, Margaret worked for the state of Michigan as a dietician in the correctional facilities prior to retiring.
"From dietary, I went into the nursing field. I loved nursing. It was a job but I had to raise my four kids though. The pay wasn't great but it was a good experience for me," Childress noted.
Times have changed but the definition of family remains the same.
She explains it's not what you have in life, it's who you have.
"We had something. We didn't have much but what we had me made the most of it. We made dolls out of newspapers. They were kind of funny but they were cute to us," Childress stated.
Currently, Margaret lives in Lafayette.
She's grateful for each of her children and their children who she says cares for her when she's in need.
"I know you say this lady doesn't know how to talk without tearing up; no I don't because children don't have to be that nice to you. I've seen grandchildren of other parents and they wish they had grandchildren like that," Childress said.