LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Over the course of a century, a Lafayette woman has learned to navigate the ups and downs of life.

It’s official — Mary Anna Lewis of Lafayette is 98 years old. She says except for a few aches and pains, she’s doing alright.

“I go to bed with pain and I get up with pain, but I learn how to live with it,” says Lewis.

Lewis gives credit for living to be 98 to the way she lives her life. She was born and raised in Maurice. She says her longevity secret is simple.

“Just take of myself,” she said. “I go to bed early and get up early. Sit around.”

Lewis and her husband raised nine children. She explains raising nine kids in a small house requires creativity.

“You know what I used to do?” said Lewis. “I separated the boys from the girls. Take a couple of sheets from this window to the next window to separate the girls from the boys at night when they go to bed.”

But during the day, getting nine little ones up and ready in time for school could be a bit more challenging.

“Oh Lord, it was a job, I tell you. Get up, get ready. Get up, get ready to hit the road, and they had no bus to pick them up. They had to walk back and forth to school, but they made it; rain or shine and in the cold. We didn’t have a car.”

Lewis remembers the days of neighbors helping neighbors and when a family could have a little but do a lot.

“That’s right, those were some good days during those times,” she said.

In the Lewis’ home, that’s what family is all about.

“We made it with what we had.”