What if...we took the time to talk to the elderly

I recently started teaching a dance format called LaBlast Fitness at a retirement center close to where I live. Every Monday morning, I teach two classes, for about 45 minutes each, to a group of participants who range in age from 60 to 95 years old. For the first class, my group is standing while dancing everything from the lindy hop to the venetian waltz to Latin dances like salsa and merengue. We sometimes (ok, mostly) move at half time and they each have a chair in front of them for balance but they are still working up a sweat while getting emotionally involved in the music and movement. We switch over to a chair for the second class and despite it seeming like an "easier" workout, my seniors still work just as hard and move their bodies to the beat.

When I decided to learn this format, I had no intention of teaching this age group. In fact, they kind of scared me. It felt like I would be looking at a mirror that aged me 30 + years while highlighting what I could no longer physically do. But through some encouragement, I decided to take a leap of faith and go to the interview for the position. While touring the facility, the activities director and I walked into the room where I would be teaching and met a few residents. They were all so kind, warm and welcoming as well as super excited at the idea of being able to dance which they said was something they weren't sure they could do anymore. I assured them that they could and decided to latch on to their positive energy. I took the job and have loved every minute.

It's super fun to teach the seniors on Mondays since I get to find out all the fun stuff they did over the weekend. It usually includes concerts, field trips to museums, parties either celebrating birthdays or holidays and loads of other activities. They are equally interested in hearing what I did over the weekend with my kids or husband and the best part is they can relate to it all. Why? Because they have lived those same experiences sometimes many times over. A few weeks ago I came into class and mentioned that I had lost a dog suddenly over the previous week. Some shared stories of their beloved lost pets while others just got teary eyed with me. Another time I had returned from attending my nephew's graduation in Northern California. At least half the residents had lived their at one point in their lives and it started a conversation about all the places everyone had lived. It was quite surprising how many towns and cities we all had in common and at one time called home. Was I actually becoming friends with this group of old people? What did old really mean to me when I listened to them? Weren't we all just opening ourselves up to being vulnerable like you do when you are trying on a new friendship?

My point is, I now have about 60 new friends who are all over the age of 60. They offer me advice and lift me up when I need it. As well, I bring them a little ray of sunshine each Monday by helping them move their bodies and emotionally connect to music. We have a symbiotic relationship This is an group that I honestly did not want to connect with because it reminds me of my own mortality. For a long time in my younger years I just saw senior citizens as the people who drive too slowly, smell funny from the topical solutions they use for their arthritic bodies, and just generally couldn't keep up with a moving, technical world. I now know I couldn't have been more wrong. Just like us, they are battling the reality that we are all not long for this earth. But how we treat each when we stop and take the time to respect someone not of our own generation makes the little time that we have hear all that more enjoyable.

So maybe go out and make a new friend that has a few decades on you. You might just learn something or even better, you might make a connection you never knew possible.