"Growing old is better than not...."

This past week, I had the wonderfully fantastic privilege of spending a week cycling in Vermont with my sister Teri. We went with a cycling company called VBT, and all together there were 21 of us, I being the youngster. On the other end of the age group was another Anne (name spelled correctly of course).

Anne J. is 81. Eleven weeks before this trip, she had a bicycling accident which resulted in a fractured pelvis and dislocated shoulder. She told her doctor about her upcoming trip to VT, and he didn't seem concerned about the time frame, so she assumed it would be fine to go. On foot, Anne walks slowly and still needs a cane. On our last day, our leaders shared they had been concerned on the first day because she'd ask for a "push" to get her going on her bike. Away she went, cycling each day--and not needing another push to move her along. Not once did I hear Anne complain, she was pleasant to everyone and a joy to be around. Let me repeat -- Anne is 81.



Two days a week I am involved in our local Masters' Swim Program. One morning while waiting to begin, I was reading the various postings on the board and came across an interesting article about a lady named Bernice who was competing at the age of 79. I went to get in my lane to begin my warm-up and lo and behold there was Bernice. What a gracious, kind, friendly, and helpful lady. Over the past few weeks, we have become friendly (because we swim in the same lane and at about the same pace, and because Bernice is hard of hearing, so I am her ears).


Today, after our workout I hopped in the hottub for a few minutes. Bernice joined me and shared her swimming story... A few years ago, her husband was quite ill. She cared for her "beloved" for two years before he passed away. During that time, she gained 22 pounds. After his passing, she spent about 1 1/2 years not doing anything. Then through a friend of hers (which had something to do with getting laser hair removal at the bikini line) she decided to join Masters' swim. At the beginning, she said she had no muscle tone, had never learned any of the strokes and could only swim about a quarter of the length of the pool. She started swimming 7 days a week, and competed in her first meet 3 months later. At this point, she laughed and said "I figured I could get first place coming in last." And then she was "hooked." She shared stories of some of the meets and the competitions with me, freely admitting to loving competition. It was fun to hear her share about how much she enjoys the support of her teammates and others she has met along the way. She also shared how others have tried to "psyche" her out, but ended up getting "dq'd" because of carelessness. In May, Bernice turned 80. She started swimming 4 years ago. Let me repeat---Bernice is 80.



These two ladies have been an incredible inspiration to me. It's never too late to do something you enjoy, go slowly when necessary, don't give up, sometimes it's a race to win, other times it's enough to just finish.