Previously, on Campfire Tales: Various sources recounted the invention of the prize-winning Starlight Mint Surprise Cookies, sometimes omitting the theft and replacement of the $10,000 prize check.

Today, let’s consider the real legacy of Laura Rott. Every celebration, article and obituary focuses on the baking contest, mostly through Eleanor Roosevelt’s summary, and including Eleanor’s “unmarried” comment.

Laura lived to be 102, and yet still never married. Here is what she DID do:

• Lived from one pandemic (1918) to the next (2020).
• Joined a rare club of people who live over 100 years.
• Held the same job for 37 (40?) years.
• Attended the same church for over 100 years.
• This is the part that gets me. Left a legacy of:
  • Always expressing her abundant love.
  • Being a generous, thoughtful, creative gift giver.
  • Consistency: work, church, family, kindness.
  • Documented and organized family reunions for decades.

Enough.

While the list of her accomplishments may not impress everyone, and while I’m not claiming to speak for Laura, in comparing her list to this list of most common regrets of the dying, all I can say is, “She inspires me.”

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

~ “Top Five Regrets of the Dying,” Susie Steiner, The Guardian

I hope she inspires you too.