Let’s face it: The Olympics are a sedentary sport for us
retirees. Right now we’re in the midst of our least active two-week period of
the winter, if you’re as interested in the Winter Games as I am. Over the years
I‘ve planned my Olympics-watching to make sure I don’t miss any ice skating. I’ll
ignore much of the rest to keep my own life going appropriately.
But I get caught up watching skiers and snowboarders do all
those hair-raising things they do. I’m always amazed when they take off their
helmets and we see such glowingly fresh faces of the healthiest, most beautiful
young people alive.
Then it occurred to me recently that much of the same dynamic is
going on in my retirement community. (What?) There is a tall, slender lady in
her eighties who walks two miles vigorously every day and has done so for years.
She’s always glowing and positive, even though she has her own health
challenges.
There are three men who walk down our hilly campus road and
back up together early every morning, talking genially among themselves.
They’ve been doing this since they moved here in their early seventies, and now
it’s a good while since they passed 80. (Personally, I think they’ve
probably solved the world problems many times over the years.) Others circle
the campus after lunch, before dinner
—whatever their best time is.
The same is true of dedicated swimmers and quite a number of
people who regularly frequent the exercise equipment in our Wellness Center. Although
they’re all “seniors” officially, you can tell from their faces and the way
they move that their bodies benefit incredibly from their dedicated routines.
One gentleman in his nineties walks in the swimming pool regularly “to keep the
devil away!”
Of course, there are others, like me, who “think” about exercising
and visualize swimming and pumping the Nu-Step in the gym, or walking the halls
regularly, or whatever. But it doesn’t happen with regularity. As a dedicated
writer, over the years I’ve made my decision, time and again, to stay in front
of my computer “and finish just this one manuscript first!”
But now I live in a retirement community with all these
opportunities right outside my door, and the health challenges I might try to
use as excuses won’t give me a pass anymore. I’m going to keep thinking about
all those healthy young faces at the Olympics — and the differences I see in
people living in my own community who move a lot more than I do.
So, please excuse me right now. I need to get my bathing suit
on and do a few laps in the nice warm pool. I know it will make me feel better
— so I can write my next blog about the pluses of retirement communities. Carry
on!
Ann’s blog appears here every Thursday. Comments are always
welcome!
Ann, these blogs are wonderful! Thank you for making me laugh and think ...
ReplyDeleteTom