I Am Not 80 Yet, but Among These 80-Year-Olds Is Where I Like to Be

Last edited Mon Nov 6, 2023, 11:13 PM - Edit history (1)

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By Bonnie Tsui

Ms. Tsui is the author of “Why We Swim.”

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At my community pool, the locker room is a tableau on aging.

Throughout the day, you’ll find bodies and bottoms of every type on display, ranging from squishy baby to saggy lady. But this is not the kind of place where short-lived resolutions to lose 15 pounds get made or broken. Here, the arc of fitness is long, and it bends toward seniors.

The hour when I frequent the pool for my lap swim has long coincided with the 8 a.m. aqua aerobics class, taught by Kathe, a calm, convivial woman with honey-colored hair and a beatific smile. Many of her devotees are in their 80s. Some are there for physical therapy after an injury; others are contending with the incessant aches and pains of age. In that crowded warren of benches and communal showers, where every flick of a towel or reach of an arm brings you into someone else’s personal space, ordinary civilities carry larger import.

I am not 80. But among these 80-year-olds is where I like to be.

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