Oct 6, 2023·edited Oct 6, 2023Liked by Jen Chamberlain
A few thoughts. At sixty, I decided to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I'd been lifting, running, the like for decades . But this.....by the time I got done I was a serious athlete. I parlayed that into an adventure athlete career for the better part of a decade. Now just returning to fitness after a series of surgeries to put various parts back in fine fettle, I am back running sand dunes, at the gym and climbing stairs. What we tend to lose sight of is that society barks at us about beauty. Kindly. At some point, really now? What's beautiful is that I am getting back up to my 100 pushups a day, my pullups, and all the things I did before, now shy of a few hand and foot bones. I have to learn dexterity and balance all over again. The beauty of aging is recognizing the beauty of the body is its resilience, strength, muscle memory and by god, the eagerness to get back in top shape. The lesson, which is even better, is that I will NEVER look like I did at my absolute best at 64. I may look even better- but I have more wrinkles, more laugh lines, more of all of that. Those speak to the mountains climbed, the seas kayaked, the horses ridden, the trails hiked, all that. That is what's beautiful. The stories the body allows me to tell.
That is the true gift of age, to be too old for this sh*t about looking younger. I want functional fitness, endurance and strength so that I can keep playing.
A few thoughts. At sixty, I decided to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I'd been lifting, running, the like for decades . But this.....by the time I got done I was a serious athlete. I parlayed that into an adventure athlete career for the better part of a decade. Now just returning to fitness after a series of surgeries to put various parts back in fine fettle, I am back running sand dunes, at the gym and climbing stairs. What we tend to lose sight of is that society barks at us about beauty. Kindly. At some point, really now? What's beautiful is that I am getting back up to my 100 pushups a day, my pullups, and all the things I did before, now shy of a few hand and foot bones. I have to learn dexterity and balance all over again. The beauty of aging is recognizing the beauty of the body is its resilience, strength, muscle memory and by god, the eagerness to get back in top shape. The lesson, which is even better, is that I will NEVER look like I did at my absolute best at 64. I may look even better- but I have more wrinkles, more laugh lines, more of all of that. Those speak to the mountains climbed, the seas kayaked, the horses ridden, the trails hiked, all that. That is what's beautiful. The stories the body allows me to tell.
That is the true gift of age, to be too old for this sh*t about looking younger. I want functional fitness, endurance and strength so that I can keep playing.
Wow, Jen! (Hey!) I feel seen. This should be made into a required “book” of secrets for every woman. So eloquently said.
Great birthday post! Enjoyed the read Jenn.