Strong Gramma Isn't an Age. It's an Intention.

I became a grandmother at 47.

So I've never really associated becoming a grandmother with becoming old.

At 47, I felt like I was just getting started.

And I had no idea where the next 17 years would take me.

Triathlons.

Marathons.

Spartan races.

An Ironman.

Building and rebuilding a business.

Travel.

Seven grandchildren.

A whole lot of starting over.

Somewhere along the way,

being a grandmother started meaning something different to me.

It wasn't just a new title.

It became part of how I thought about my future.

And eventually, that idea would become Strong Gramma.

Strong Doesn't Mean What It Used To

For a long time, fitness taught women to measure progress by what we could see.

Weight.

Clothing size.

Before-and-after pictures.

Maybe how much we could lift.

I care about strength.

A lot.

But these days I'm much more interested in what that strength allows me to do.

Can I be the platform for cheer practice when my granddaughter decides my back is the perfect place to practice a stunt?

Can I put a case of water into my grocery cart — and get it back out again?

Can I pull weeds in the yard without my back hurting?

Can I scoop up and rock a toddler who just fell at the playground?

Can I get down on the floor and crawl around with my infant granddaughter?

Can I walk all day exploring somewhere new?

Can I keep my balance when the ground isn't perfectly flat?

Those are the measurements I'm increasingly interested in.

Because I don't want to build a life around protecting my body from everything.

I want to build a body capable of participating in my life.

This Isn't About Being the “Fit Grandma”

Strong Gramma isn't a competition.

You don't have to run a marathon.

You certainly don't have to do an Ironman.

You don't have to look like me.

And your version of strong doesn't have to look anything like mine.

Maybe your strong is gardening.

Pickleball.

Travel.

Playing on the floor with a toddler.

Living independently.

Hiking.

Taking care of your own home.

Walking through Disney with your family without wondering where the next bench is...

or needing your grandchildren to push you in a wheelchair.

Your strong should look like your life.

Strong Gramma Isn't an Age

I became one at 47.

Another woman might become one at 55.

Or 65.

Because underneath the name is something bigger.

Strong Gramma is an intention.

It's the intention to keep participating.

To keep building capacity instead of assuming you'll inevitably lose it.

To pay attention when something starts getting harder.

To train what you can.

To recover when you need to.

To begin again when life knocks you sideways.

And to stop deciding ahead of time what you're going to be “too old” to do.

I'm Training for a Woman I Haven't Met Yet

Earlier this week I did some math I wasn't quite prepared for.

My youngest granddaughter is five months old.

When she's 16, I'll be 80.

I can't know what my health will look like then.

None of us gets that guarantee.

But I know the kind of grandmother I hope to be.

I want her to get the same Grammy the older kids got.

One who goes.

One who participates.

One who's curious.

One who's still making plans.

So I'm training for her.

And I'm training for me.

Not because I believe I can control aging.

But because I'm not willing to surrender my future to it before I get there.

What's Your Intention?

Forget your weight for a minute.

Forget what your body looked like at 30.

Forget what somebody on Instagram says a woman your age is supposed to look like.

Seriously...

Who the heck wants six-pack abs at 65?

My grandkids could care less about that. 😂

They care whether Grammy can DO THE THINGS.

So ask yourself something different:

What kind of woman do I intend to be 10 years from now?

What does she still do?

Where does she go?

Who is she there for?

What does she need her body to be capable of?

And then:

What can I do today that gives her a better chance?

That's where we start.

Because Strong Gramma isn't an age.

It's an intention.

And strong starts now.