I think I want what Mommy has—the 97-year-old tortoise who just gave birth at the Philadelphia Zoo.

There are some stories that stop us in our tracks. Not because of tragedy or scandal. No. Just because of their improbable beauty. The kind that makes you frown, smile unexpectedly, and think for a moment about what you’re doing with your own life. That’s exactly what the story of “Mommy,” a 97-year-old giant Galapagos tortoise who just gave birth to a clutch of eggs at the Philadelphia Zoo, provokes.

Yes, you read that right: 97. And a mother for the first time.

We’re talking about a tortoise who’s lived through almost a century. She was already an adult when the Beatles released their first record, and she was old enough to vote before the first moon landings were broadcast on television. And yet, it’s today, when the vast majority of living beings would have been categorized as “peaceful retirement,” that she reminds us that life follows its own rhythm, and that motherhood, love, or major upheavals have no defined age.

What’s even more astonishing about this story is that Mommy had never been seen in a relationship. No one had noted any courtship, no typical amorous behavior. And yet, nature, in its often brilliant discretion, did its work. The zoo team discovered the eggs with amazement, before confirming that, yes, they were indeed fertilized. Today, several baby turtles are poking their noses out, living proof that there are surprises that even a century of existence cannot prevent.

So, of course, beyond simple biological curiosity, there is what this story evokes in us: that universal need to still have something to hope for, to offer, to welcome. Mommy is suddenly becoming a new kind of icon. Not because she’s famous, not because she has millions of Instagram followers (although maybe that will come), but because she embodies the crazy idea that it’s never too late. Too late to create, to share, to love—even in the quiet silence of a zoo enclosure.

And let’s be honest: who wouldn’t want that? Not necessarily eggs or babies at 97, but that quiet power, that ability to surprise the world when it least expects it. That refusal, perhaps unconscious, to let life define us solely by our age or by what we haven’t yet done. Mommy may not have even known she would become a symbol, and that’s probably what makes her even more inspiring.

So today, between two busy news stories and a world constantly moving forward, let’s pause for a moment. Let’s think of this turtle, of its incredible patience, of its silent strength. And let’s remember that the important thing isn’t to have accomplished everything quickly, but to keep moving forward. At its own pace. At our own pace.

Because deep down, yes… I think I want what Mommy has.