Aging is Optional

It's a gorgeous day, I can hardly believe it's almost November. I give thanks for this weather, especially since for the first time in many years I've given up my gym membership and I'm working out outdoors. I've ramped up my workout, I started Sandy Woods' Boot Camp on Monday morning, at the Lake. It's amazing what a little somethin' somethin' can do for those seldom used muscles. I suppose the same thing goes for our seldom used other faculties, talents, gifts, skills. I guess it wouldn't be too trite for me to say this, "use it or lose it." Do you know Ernestine Shepherd? I see her in Druid Hill Park sometimes, en route to work. By then, she's been up and working out for about 4 hours. I stopped her once, had to tell her she was my role model. If you don't know Ernestine, she's the Baltimore woman who recently was flown to Rome where she was inducted into Guinness Book of Record for being the oldest female body builder on the planet. She's 74 years old with the body of a woman a third her age! She's in ESSENCE magazine this month, again, in her skimpy body building gear! Like what she has on in the photo here. Ernestine is proof that though turning another year older is a requirement, if you're above ground, aging is optional.

Too many people mistakenly believe they have no say about how their mind and body age. NOT so! Getting one year older doesn't have to mean you lose your juice and joy and jump. Puhlease! In fact, Ernestine didn't start working out until she was in her fifties. So, no excuses for you. Get thee booty up out that bed and work it! Watch what you put in that precious body. If you got a mate, have lots of good, hot sex. Lots of it. Sex puts a pep in your step and burn calories. Eat more fresh foods--the farmers markets have great fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. Laugh out loud, often. Have fun. Be silly. Try something new. Get comfortable with uncertainty. Relax with a good book (my book, Love Addicted, is a good read). This life isn't a dress rehearsal. It's the real thing. Go for it and Enjoy it!