Exercise Class Shines A Light On Seniors

In mid-March, I attended my first exercise class for senior citizens.

At first it was a struggle to keep up with the pace of the class and distinguish between my left and my right. Some days I was so clumsy that I was painfully reminded that I didn’t take dance lessons as a kid.

But I stuck with it, slowly easing into the class tempo, and trying not to embarrass myself too much. Eventually, when the class lunged to the left I wasn’t lunging to the right, and I could actually lift my left leg and my right arm at the same time with relative ease.

As I emerged from that fog of physical incompetence, I began to take a closer look at my fellow seniors who ranged in age from 65 to about 80. It took me a while to realize that this class was a lot like high school. We had a class clown and the serious students. There were the introverts who waited quietly for the class to begin. And, probably just like every senior high school class, there was the group of extroverts who tried to get in one last story before the teacher started talking.

That feeling of being in high school was reinforced by the great music that accompanied our exercise classes, the fun and happy songs from the fifties and sixties like “Blueberry Hill” and “Stand By Me.” You know, the ones with the great beats.

As I began to get to know people, I started to realize that we seniors really are 16 at heart — but with the wisdom of the ages, thanks to all of our varied and rich life experiences.

And I began to wonder: How does God our Father see us?

He’s been with us all these years. He was there when we were dressed in sweater sets and poodle skirts with saddle oxfords on our feet. He was there when we didn’t know our left from our right, and He was there every time we lunged a little too far in one direction or another.

He was there during our salad days when we started our families and as we launched our careers. He’s been right here with us all these years, and He’s with us now in this new and interesting and sometimes difficult stage of our lives.

As seniors, we have experienced pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II days. We remember evening Benediction, May crownings and wearing white lace mantillas during Mass. And by now, we have developed a comfortable relationship with the Holy Trinity because that’s been the most consistent element in our long lives.

I love what Pope Francis says about the elderly, himself a member of the club: “The Church recognizes the gifts that the elderly are for so many communities and parishes.

“Among the faithful today, they are the mainstay and the majority who attend our liturgical celebrations, who dedicate a great portion of their time to caring for the poor, who visit hospitals and nursing homes….  Their prayer has sustained the Church.”