"Converse"ations with Meg

Mrs. Elaine

Let me introduce you to one of the most inspiring people on this planet, Mrs. Elaine. This precious lady is 88 years young, and one of the spunkiest and most “full of life” ladies I know! I have learned a few things about life just from watching and being around her, and thought I would share. First, invest in and love on people. Mrs. Elaine will learn your name one time, and never forget it. She asks questions about people and their life and is always checking up on people. She notices when people are missing or out of their routine, and she genuinely cares about them. When I first walked into a workout class, incredibly overweight, in clothes that were just the biggest I could find to cover me up, and a nervous wreck, she was one of the first to greet me and invest in me. She constantly encouraged me to keep coming, to not quit, and has been one of my biggest cheerleaders on my journey. Between her expecting me to keep coming, and my mom being in charge of the class, I had no option but to keep pushing and working!

Second, enjoy life at any stage! Mrs. Elaine lost her husband pretty recently. I am not sure how long they had been married but I know it was for an awfully long time! They were the sweetest couple, always encouraging and greeting people as they came into church on Sunday mornings. Watching his diagnosis and seeing him pass away, Mrs. Elaine continued to be a bright spot and an encouragement to so many people. What an example of loving someone so well while they are here on earth and understanding she will see him again in heaven. Today, Mrs. Elaine is headed to New Orleans for the day, she recently traveled out west, she went on a cruise, and she has continued to enjoy life at this new stage, doing new things knowing her hope is in Christ and she will see her sweet man again!

Third, age is honestly just a number. The way I met Mrs. Elaine was through exercise and workout classes. When I tell you she can do anything, I am not exaggerating. This lady planks, does burpees, mountain climbers, lifts weights, runs the track, and challenges herself in many different types of exercise. She plays pickleball during the day, and works out with our classes in the afternoon. Last week, Mrs. Elaine decided she would try a new class, a bootcamp style class I lead on Thursday afternoons. She jumped right in, did not miss a beat with the moves or the equipment. Afterwards she said she was so glad she tried it, she had been “wanting to see what it was about.” I turned around for two seconds and she was gone! She had popped in next door to the Zumba class and as she said “did a little number with them!” She is fearless and loves to challenge herself and boy oh boy, is it inspiring!

Mrs. Elaine will tell you, she has been exercising her entire life. Even in her busy seasons, she never gave up that 30 minutes to and hour a few times a week to work out and challenge her body, that she says is her secret to success! All I can say, is she is, like my high schoolers say “goals.” We can all aspire to be like Mrs. Elaine when we grow up!