I noticed her hunched over the shopping baskets in Walmart. She’s a greeter, a tiny lady with gray hair but she is strong! We have chatted before so I stopped to talk to her when I went Walmart today. I shared that I felt tired from teaching at the high school all day.
She leaned on a shopping cart, “I am tired too. I don’t bounce back the way I did when I was 70. At 70 I could work 8 to 10 hours a day, drive home and get my energy back by the time I arrived home.”
My mouth dropped open, “You could do that at 70? Well, how old are you now?”
She chuckled, “I’ll be 83 on my birthday in October.
“Amazing!”
“I did better before I got all these metal plates in my leg and I always deal with back pain.” She didn’t say it in a complaining kind of way. Simply matter-of-fact way of sharing her struggles.
Then she shared with me about how she grew up in the dust bowl times. She shared that they could not get enough to eat as children. The lack of nutrients and iron had a lifelong effect on her health.
Yet here she is, a living example of a good work ethic. She inspires me to keep working and giving even as I age. At 83, she’s cleaning the shopping carts and the floor and making sure we feel welcome at Walmart! Beautiful!