You Aren’t Done Yet
By: Coach Trice Sweet
Trice & Nora Sweet, with their mother Priscilla.
My mom is 62, and she might be a little annoyed with me for letting the entire internet know her age, but I think her age is probably one of the most admirable things about her. I will steal someone else’s words for her thoughts on age, as she is my all-time favorite writer and role model. Elizabeth Gilbert writes…
“As you get older, there is no more time to be careful, and no more REASON to be careful — at least as my mom sees it. Instead, this is time to seize as much life and joy and adventure and learning and novelty as you possibly can. As my mom said, “I hate seeing people slide themselves into the grave far before their time. Death will come when it comes — but it’s crazy to sit around waiting for it. If you’re not dead yet, you’re not done yet.”
She writes in this blog post about her mother, who, at age 73 is frustrated with her peers looking at life at a certain age and deeming it over. She continues…
“I have heard people speak of their lives as if they were finished at 30, done at 40, washed up at 50, too late to start over at 60, no more chances at 70…
But are you still here?
Then you aren’t done yet.
Don’t make your life smaller as the years pass. If it’s time to start over, then it’s time to start over. If you aren’t where you planned to be, then it’s time to make a new plan.”
I suppose my mom decided 62 years wasn’t just a time to sit at home and sulk about not being capable, but instead opted for her first CrossFit classes in late 2015. Just last week she finished up her very first CrossFit Open with impressive lifts and times each of the five weeks. She was registered for the 55+ Master’s category and stayed consistent every Friday night.
Most notably (in my opinion), during 16.4, she deadlifted (almost) her own body weight, making her, at least in my eyes, a super woman. I watched her, completely out of breath, lift weights and gut through movements that she has never done before. I heard whispers from every corner of this gym saying, “If she can do this, I can do this.”
My mom decided that she wanted to be healthier, to live longer, and to be able to do everything for herself as she ages. I know by the time she’s 70 or 80, she’ll still be out in the yard gardening (with proper squat form, of course), moving furniture around the house, climbing stairs, lifting boxes overhead, and incorporating CrossFit into her day-to-day life.
It will never be too late to step completely out of your comfort zone, to take care of yourself, to try something new, or to gain back your life. If you’re still breathing, the time is definitely now. If you have any doubts about it, just ask my mom.
Priscilla Sweet completing Open WOD 16.3
