Two sisters...three years apart, both celebrating something special.
Ophelia Edmunds just turned 103, she was born June 22, 1918.
"Yes I'm okay. Yes I feel pretty good today," she said.
Her sister Elizabeth Brown will celebrate her 100th birthday this weekend. She was born July 17th 1921.
"Did you think that you would live to see 100?"
"No I didn't. The good lord, the good lord above. He takes care of me."
"Oh I don't know, my mother was 103."
This is only the second time the sisters have been together since the pandemic hit in 2020, last month for Ophelia's birthday party was the first.
"The hardest part was when she couldn't see Aunt Beth and by them both having trouble hearing sometimes conversations over the phone weren't real easy to do," said Ophelia's daughter.
"I said my birthday was very nice wouldn't it crowded. She had a crowd here for her birthday."
Other than their hearing fading, both women are pretty healthy.
"My memory ain't too good and I can't hear too good," Ophelia said.
"I don't have any problems just have the children," Elizabeth said. "I had all the children my older sister she only had two and Ophelia my sister here she had two. I have five."
They're the last living of eight siblings.
"They'd often say I haven't seen my sister in a while. I haven't talked to my sister in a while. The relationship that they have is awesome," said Crystal.
Crystal Johnson is Elizabeth's daughter.
"It's a blessing to still have her and my aunt here," Bernadette said. "I'm sorry I don't have a sister with me to be as close as they are with each other."
Bernadette Washington-Oliver is Ophelia's daughter, but not if you ask Ms. Ophelia.
"She's the mama now,” Ophelia said.
"I'll say ma it's time to eat, come on and eat," she explained. "Mom it's time to eat cut that TV off mama and come eat. So what goes around comes around."
Something they missed as much as they did each other during the pandemic was their fellowship on Sunday mornings...since they were children they've been members at Leadenhall Baptist church.
"My daddy used to make us stay in church so much til I said when I get grown I ain't gonna never go back, now I miss it so bad," Ophelia said.
"I miss going to church. We're both ushers at Leadenhall Baptist," Elizabeth said.
"It was miserable the worst part was not being to go to church that was her outing. She could stay in there all day long and enjoy herself that was her outing," Bernadette explained.
While they're not sure when they'll return to church, their reunion is just what they needed and for their families watching them, it’s a reminder of their love and a lesson in their longevity.
"Sometimes people have a tendency to worry about things that they can't control," Bernadette said.
She doesn't.
If you're not sitting and worrying about something you're not tearing yourself down, your actually building yourself up and that's why she's here for 103 years.
"I thank good every day for letting her see another day. All I can say is but God that has kept them on their feet all these many years," said Crystal.
