Her uncle reminds me of a quote from one of my uncles who has passed (many years ago unfortunately) "Never underestimate us old(er) folks, we went through everything you have, survived it, and then did a crap ton more!"
This made me think of a song by Miou-Miou.
If you never spend a penny of your savings,
You'll never be penniless.
If you never let anything set you aflame,
You'll never get burned.
If you lick the boot that kicks your ass,
You'll never taste the whip.
And if you crawl on your belly your whole life,
You'll never stumble and fall.
You'll never, ever stumble and fall!
So then why,
Why, oh, why, please tell me why,
Why
Do you try
To fly
In the sky?
Sure, survival is cool. But there are many ways of surviving, and some of the ways older peepz traditionally chose might not be role models that you want to imitate.