If you've never had the pleasure - and the privilege - of meeting someone who's lived more than 100 years, it's quite something.
My previous record was 99 (my late grandfather-in-law), but I was recently visiting some friends with my parents at a rest home when I met Mary. She was all smiles, greeting everyone, sprightly in her way. There wasn't much of a chance to exchange many words, as she was soon off with her walker to the next part of her well-worn routine. Mary waved and moved on, but left a lasting impression.
Increasing life spans are one of the variables that make retirement planning a challenge. Alongside the question of how much we'll need, not knowing how long we should be planning for can paralyse us and lead us to simply kick it all down the line a bit longer.
Will our children live to 100?
For those born in the mid-2010s, Stats NZ says that perhaps 17 percent of females (or one in six) and 11 percent of males (or one in nine) will reach 100. Apparently there will be more of us clocking a century in our lifetimes - those are some good innings.
While it's fascinating to meet someone whose birthdate was in 1917, how about someone born ten years earlier? The oldest New Zealander is Madeline Anderson, born 4 May 1907. She's 110. Astounding.