#LiveLikeGrindma
My grandma knows no chill. Wake up, GRIND, repeat. Grindma is retired. Money in the bank, and money still coming in. Goals. So why doesn’t she just hire people to go mow the lawn, tend for her garden, or fix this or that? Well, she loves the grind, and learning as she goes. Pushing her limits until it’s time for that afternoon nap. Here’s a few lessons I’ve learned from her.
#1 A Body in Motion Stays in Motion
Newton’s first law (kind of). But it seems to ring true. Remember recess as a kid and you’d just start running around for no good reason? Body in motion. Always.
Then somewhere in high-school and definitely in college we drop recess for either the gym, a specific sport, martial art, or Netflix. The running around like crazy stops and the specialization starts.
I’ve been curious. If one never stopped running around like crazy, how long could they go for? An outside force could stop you like an injury, but I wonder how much age affects us or if we bring it on prematurely. We are obviously much more sedimentary now, but then you look at the goats like Kelly Slater, Tom Brady,and Laird Hamilton who seem to defy age. They seem to be constantly moving, never losing that childlike play. We’ll see. But ya, back to Grindma. She moves all day. When she’s tired she naps. You can catch Grindma crushing her softball game, hiking, gardening, cleaning, fixing, and no matter what, grinding.
#2 Selflessness
I’ve never seen Grandma be selfish. The last few years of Papa’s life, Grandma’s entire day would be spent in service of Papa. Her love for him was inspiring and it’s something that I hope to find and replicate one day.
Her service for her family is also incredible. I can’t wait to have offspring to truly understand how much a parent loves a kid, but wow Grandma loves us. From holiday meals, to picking up her grandkids from practice, to sewing all my ripped baseball pants, Grandma is always ready to serve.
Selflessness is a circle. I still think it’s remarkable how helping others helps yourself. If you’re ever in a bad mood, you should just help someone. I forget exactly where I heard this from, but when I’m upset, I look at someone and wish upon them a better day for 10 seconds. It instantly changes my headspace.
#3 Don’t Question What Works
Grindma’s daily grind requires two cups of coffee in the morning with that delicious Coffee-Mate Hazelnut Cream. She then proceeds to walk her poodle Abby at the harbor. Oh, and I just found out she does 80 “butt ups” in the morning because she doesn’t want her “butt to get flat”. Her diet consists of what she wants. Sometimes, that’s a Poptart. I know.. it’s gotta be the Okinawan blood to some extent, but also she doesn’t put much thought into her food. It is what has worked for her, so no questions need to be asked. She’s fit as a fiddle and spends her time worrying about her grandson in Mexico instead. The diet might not be optimal, but what’s the point of fixing something that’s not broken?
#4 Stay Lost
I used to go do manual labor for Grandma and Papa at there property. They had a couple acres. I remember one day Grindma and I weeded her entire embankment in the hot Valley Center sun. Not fun. I have a desire to go elsewhere when I do mindless chores such as weeding. I’ll be daydreaming, podcasting, audio-booking, or listening to music these days. There’s nothing wrong with doing these things, in fact I think it’s beneficial to learn while doing mindless chores, but Grindma seems to be lost in the work. Losing yourself in the work is a meditation in itself. Grindma does great work, that’s for sure.
Her ability to just look at a task and start grinding is quite different than her grandson. This past Christmas, my gift to my parents was to shovel a ton of dirt off the driveway. I’d walk by that dirt day after day and do nothing about it. The dirt pile lingered in my brain. Occasionally, after there was absolutely nothing more I could do to procrastinate, I’d take a few loads of dirt to the backyard. The night I finished was the night Grandma started grinding beside me (She probably knew I wouldn’t stop if she was there). There was no way I wouldn’t outlast her, so the task was completed after the sun set. Grindma doesn’t procrastinate and let the work linger in the back of her head. She sees it and gets lost in it.
#5 Fear Not, Aging
Aging terrifies me. I’m in the second half of my twenties now and I feel like I could lose “it” any day now. Grandma is super active and still plays softball multiple times a week. This is a definite goal of mine and she’s an inspiration to stay active and healthy. What stands out more is the fact that I’ve never heard her complain about aging. She just goes with the flow, rolls with the punches, and lets aging happen. Aging is a part of life, and perhaps the reason she is agin so beautifully is the fact that she does not worry about it.
Tackle each day’s obstacles as they come, for there is no time to worry about the next.
#LiveLikeGrindma
