- Warren Miller
I hit a milestone a few months ago - the big six-oh.
It's funny, I don't feel like sixty. Isn't sixty a grey haired grandma who spends her time baking cookies, weeding her flower garden and taking slow meandering walks? That is not me! While I do all those things on occasion, it is not all I do. As for the slow meandering walk - I may meander, but I have never walked slowly...just ask my husband!
And I have a job that occupies more than thirty hours a week.
I am not my mother's sixty. She raised four kids, spent her days cooking, cleaning and doing laundry. She worked her garden, canned her vegetables and made preserves out of the fruit. Her life was not easy. By the time Mom was sixty she had six grandchildren she doted on, had bid two of her best friends a teary farewell and had yet to spend any time in Minnesota where I lived.
My mom's world was small and familiar.
My world is frequently large and challenging. A little discomfort is good for me...even at sixty. Acting outside my comfort zone is what made me tackle the Muckfest 5K last year and what prompted me to sign up again this year - despite my irrational fears. I am more physically fit than I was last year, so I have no idea what I am afraid of... other than worrying I will not live up to my own personal expectations. At the encouragement of friends, I take a Pilates class twice a week and an Orange Theory (high intensity interval training) class once a week - both of which are mentally and physically challenging. While I will never be excited about exercising, I do like the the sense of accomplishment I feel after completing a class.
"You must do the things you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt
Unlike my mom, I will not be a grandmother at sixty...and that's okay. While my daughter and husband want a family some day, there is no hurry. They are young and busy. As strange as it sounds, one of the reasons I want to be fit at sixty is so I can be fit at seventy. I want to be a "fun" grandmother. I want to do active outings with those future grandchildren. I don't want to be afraid to try new things...or have that fear rub off onto impressionable minds.
So, I fight the aging process.
Wrinkles on my face - don't really care about that. I will never be my college weight again - that's okay, too. My menopause belly will probably never go away, but the stomach muscles underneath will be strong. When I look into the mirror I often see my mother look back at me - and that is okay, too. What is not okay is to give up trying just because I am getting close to the age of Social Security. Good health is important and should not be taken for granted. I need to work at it. If that means eating less junk food and drinking less wine, I can handle that. If it means exercising when I would rather be watching Netflix, so be it. If it means committing to a muddy race to support my friend - sign me up!
No more sitting on the sidelines...
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