(Image source from: 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin dances with Barack Obama})

At 106 years old, Virginia McLaurin says she can finally die happy after meeting President Barack Obama, she’s seen more than a dozen presidents come and go. The grandmother said that when she saw the president and first lady Michelle Obama in the flesh, she was so happy, she started dancing.

McLaurin had started an online White House petition for a visit more than a year ago. The African-American said in the petition that she never thought she’d live to see a black president. The African-American centenarian fulfilled her dream of a lifetime by meeting Barack Obama.

Video posted by the White House shows a spry McLaurin waving her cane and breaking into a jig. In the footage, released late Sunday, McLaurin greets the first couple with a boisterous "Hi!" and her arms outstretched as her name is announced by White House greeters.

"Slow down, now!" Obama tells the diminutive McLaurin, as she bustles over to give the first lady an embrace.

"She's 106!" the president exclaims.

"No, you are not!" Michelle Obama says in disbelief, clasping McLaurin's hand. "I want to be like you when I grow up."

"You can," McLaurin cheerfully replies.

At one point in the meeting, all three hold hands as they join in her exuberant celebratory dance.

"What's the secret to still dancing at 106?" Obama asks her, as McLaurin giggles with delight.

"I thought I would never live to get into the White House, and I tell you, I am so happy," she exults.

"A black president, and a black wife," a beaming McLaurin said.

"And I'm here for Black History Month," she added, beaming.

The trio pose for a picture — the statuesque Michelle Obama bending her knees slightly to fit into the frame with tiny McLaurin, who barely reached chest-high on the high-heeled first lady.

By Premji