Fief & fit

"Help me out here, San, shall I put this on? Or is that sweater better? What do you think?" My little mum of 87 is off to the "djim" again tomorrow (as she grandly calls it herself). For two years now she's dutifully gone every week — she never skips one. No New Year's resolution required here whatsoever, motivated as she is.

Before she started at this "djim," she'd first peeked inside. "Well San, it really is a strange gym, you know, it all looks so old, I'm not sure." Honestly, I didn't get it. A strange gym in the heart of Haarlem — I was rather curious. But it was just around the corner from mum, how practical. So I figured I'd call first about the options for the elderly. Well, it turned out they even had someone of 70, I was proudly told. When I asked whether they'd also know what to do with a feisty lady of 85, it went quiet for a moment. Whether we could come by.

And that's when I understood mum's definition of strange. It turned out to be a trendy crossfit gym. Mum, used to hi-tech treadmills, bikes, and so on. And not to kettlebells, barbells, and goodness knows what else. This took a bit of adjusting for her. But the intake was great, and soon the plan was born to get going with a personal trainer.

By now she's completely in her element with the exercises and has built up a wonderful bond with Personal Trainer M. He inspires her, she inspires him, even though she's older than his grandmother. They share each other's ups and downs. M motivates and brings the energy. Mum puts things in perspective and brings the zen. When it was mum's birthday, as a surprise the 3 trainers showed up on her doorstep with a little cake. How cool is that?

But last week she couldn't make her usual PT day. I suggested skipping a week, but that was no option at all. Could I send M a message, then, to ask whether he could reschedule the training? And that's when my eye fell on M's profile photo. And suddenly I understood mum's perseverance and discipline completely. The old rascal. I seriously wouldn't skip a single class either!