Step Up and Show Up

Once again this week there were three Ethel AARP challenges waiting in my inbox on Sunday. The Week Four theme was 'Step Up and Show Up', and focused on engaging with the community. The challenges were to [One] plan a trip or excursion to somewhere I'd never been, [Two] introduce myself to someone new, and [Optional] register for an AARP class or event.

Thanks to my weekend trip I didn't get around to checking my email until late in the day, but by then I had already fulfilled the first two challenges

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[One] Out of town trips by definition lead to places I've never been, and after Sunday I can cross seeing a game in the San Francisco Giant's stadium off my list. I know some people make an effort to visit Major League Baseball stadiums. I'm not one of them, but if an opportunity falls into my lap I'll take it.

[Two] I actually introduced myself to people on two different occasions.

• On Sunday morning when I was at the park I observed an Oriental woman who looked to be about my age doing stretching exercises. Eventually she started doing some impressive spinning jump kicks.

When I followed one of the grands over to that area I complimented the woman on her athleticism. She told me the move was called a butterfly kick, and came from kung fu. At that point her phone rang and I moved away. Five minutes later she came over to where I was standing and struck up a conversation. I learned that she lived alone and came to the park every day to exercise because she enjoyed the people and interactions. 

 

Public Domain Vectors

• At Son Brian's party there were several people I didn't know. I made sure to introduce myself and find out how they knew the birthday boy. 

[Optional] St. Louis AARP used to have a robust network of in-person events, but when I looked on the website I couldn't find anything. I guess once again I'll be passing on the optional activity this week.

Five years ago: Who Doesn't Like Stickers?