The Real Reason I Keep Moving

I spent the weekend visiting my family which equally filled me up, and broke me open. ☯️

I feel incredibly lucky to still have all four of my grandparents with me, well into their 80s & 90s, along with a great aunt and uncle turning 93 this month. But seeing them this weekend felt different than in years past.

Each of them is navigating their own health challenges (dementia, pneumonia, and diabetes to name a few) and it got me thinking about the inevitable changes our bodies go through as we age.

Seeing my Tía was especially heartbreaking. 💔 My earliest memories of her are from when I was a toddler and she was already in her 60s. Even then, she was stationary. She’d arrive at our house, sit through the whole visit, and then go home to sit some more.

As the years passed, the big staircase at our house became too much for her to climb, so visits moved outside. Summers only. She’d sit in the backyard, enjoying the sun, but only when the weather allowed. 🪑

Yesterday, I saw her again in her little apartment in Washington Heights, recliner-bound after a series of falls and surgeries. Still chipper, still smiling, but clearly limited. My Tío, who survived a stroke a few years back, sat beside her clearly struggling with the fact he can’t move like he used to.

It breaks my heart to watch them age, and to recognize that one day, this will be me too.

Growing up, I watched relatives get hip and knee replacements at what felt like “too young,” and I think that was part of what quietly motivated me to move. I always loved sports as a kid, but when the games ended, I had to find new reasons to care for my body. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Seeing them present through so many celebrations, I’m realizing I’d love to live to be 90 too. 

But more than that, I want to still be able to make my own cup of coffee, or step outside on a beautiful day instead of just wondering what the weather feels like and admiring the sun ☀️ from my window.

I know this story might feel like a bummer, and while I want this blog to always feel like a place of inspiration sometimes, real change comes from sitting with the stories we’d rather ignore. 🙈

It’s hard to admit that we, too, will age. But as we step into this new season, with our bodies still capable, I encourage you to keep moving. 🏋️ Not for next summer’s “beach body,” but as a thank you to the body that has carried you this far, and as a promise to your future self that you’ll still be able to dance if you want to. 🕺🏻

Loving you through the unwanted grief, and unbound potential of this new season.

It’s as good a time as any to begin again.