One of my absolute, all-time favorite movies is American Beauty. If anyone who reads this hasn't seen the academy award winning film just call me and I can quote it for you to save you the cost of renting it. It is just that good. There is one scene in particular which has grown on me over time. In this scene, the main character is narrating a segment of the film and states "It's a great thing when you realize that you still have the ability to surprise yourself."
I didn't really understand the insight of that sentiment when I heard it. It didn't make my top 10 list of quotable moments from the movie. However, as I have begun to approach the mid-way point in my life I have increasingly found those words a haunting refrain.
There is a natural trajectory to each life; a goal, a dream, a picture of what fantastic adventures await. As time goes by, it seems that our dreams become smaller. We begin to feel that we are running out of time. To save face for ourselves, we couch our retreat in kind ways of expression. We say that our dreams are now "more manageable" but that is just a palatable way of saying that we no longer think we can reach the original ones. The sad reality is that somewhere inside there is a part of us that is giving up a little more every day. I can't do that anymore. I'm too old for that. That's not possible. The downward portion of our trajectory has begun.
Many fight it. Men buy fancy cars or leave their wives. Women go back to college to restart the career they put on hold to raise a family. All while onlookers joke about their rebellion against Father Time using terms like 'mid-life crisis.'
All who know me are aware that over the last six months I have become one of those brainwashed Crossfit people. I have thrown myself into a sport full of heavy weights and high intensity. I have turned a blind eye to my supposed age and looked instead towards a new reality. Many days after a particularly grueling workout, I come home to a handful of Advil and an ice pack. My wife will worry about me and ask "Should you really be lifting that?" and "Is that really safe for someone YOUR age?" Her reaction is a completely understandable one. What she can't see is that behind all the sore muscles and groaning I have never felt more alive.
This weekend I actually competed in my first Crossfit competition. In most Crossfit workouts, there comes a moment when you reach the end of what you think is physically possible. This is the point where the community of Crossfit athletes rallies around you and encourages you to reach further, push harder, and keep going. In a competition, the stakes are higher due to the sheer number of workouts an athlete is asked to do in a single day. Nervous for weeks leading up to the event, I worried that when that moment came I might reach into the tank and find it empty. "It is a great thing when you realize that you still have the ability to surprise yourself." I didn't win the competition this weekend. For someone as competitive as I am that may seem to be a disappointment. Yet I walked away happy to the point of tears with my 22nd place finish. This weekend I actually competed in my first Crossfit competition.
Folks who typically read my blog may be asking themselves "What does this have to do with seniors and aging?" Nothing. And everything. This weekend I feel as though I captured some water from the fountain of youth. I chose not to surrender to the downhill trajectory that life had already begun to create for me. I chose to live. At Home Instead Senior Care, that spirit is reflected in our mission as well. We are not simply a company that provides help for seniors living at home. We are an organization that dares seniors and their families to ask the question: What's next? We are driven by the desire that when seniors reach the point in their lives when everyone expects them to quit, that they will have not only the resources but also the courage to ask big questions and dream impossible dreams.
Are you saying that seniors should start doing Crossfit?
No, I am not saying that seniors should start doing Crossfit.
But then again...why not?
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