Gymnastics and Geriatrics

The true beginning is upon me. My first week of community living has been a gradual adjustment--mostly because Sr. Kathy has been on vacation and so we have not fully entered into our "normal" routine, which is yet to be determined. There are cooking and cleaning schedules to be arranged, and community time to be planned. I am excited for the return of Kathy, as her coming home marks the wholeness of our new community. Community, I believe, at its best is a group of (in our case) women who create an environment of mutual growth and transformation through openness to one another.

This evening, while cleaning up from dinner, I discovered that the distance between the two counter tops in our kitchen is the perfect distance to hold yourself up and swing as if you were a gymnast on the parallel bars. At 27 osteoporosis and arthritis have not yet found there way into my life and so this maneuver is easy for me. Much to my surprise Joan and Maureen both attempted my crazy shenanigans. Don't let their age fool you!!! They swung themselves through our kitchen like Tarzan through the jungle! Okay, maybe not quite . . . but we didn't end up in the emergency room and that has to count for something!

Mid swing Joan proclaimed that we would be sharing and learning a lot from each other this year. As silly as this moment that we shared was I believe it defines the life of community. I am not here to be formed alone, I too bring something to this community and through our mutual sharing we will grow and become more fully the women that God created us to be.