As a personal trainer, I work with a number of older adults. In fact, my in-person client base tends to be adults age 50 and up, with many being what you'd probably consider senior citizens.
Several years ago, I had an in-home client named Ione who was well past 80 and had lost her eyesight to macular degeneration. Ione was basically a shut-in. By the time I had been introduced to her, she was pretty much only getting out for her medical appointments, and the occasional trip to the drive-through for an ice cream cone. I worked with Ione on things like balance, mobility, and light strength, which helped her feel more confident getting around with her walker, and made it easier for her husband to help her in and out of the car and the shower.
Stubborn and strong and proud, Ione had been around the block more than a few times in her 80+ years. I learned a lot from her - partly because of her blindness, and partly because of her remarkable insight.
One December afternoon, while going through some seated exercises and making small talk, I asked Ione what was on her Christmas wish list. "White Diamonds," she said, "The perfume."
That was a light bulb moment for me. Ione and her husband didn't go out on the town or over to friends' homes for dinner parties. She never had a need to gussy herself up, and her husband, a good man who loved and cared for her, wasn't concerned about her perfume.
It was for her. With everything going on in her life, she wanted to feel pretty.
That lesson stuck with me. No matter how old or infirm they may become, girls want to feel pretty. They want to feel good about themselves.
Ione passed away a few years ago, the day after Thanksgiving. I still see her husband for exercise twice a week, in his home. Sometimes we talk about her. She was snarky, and sometimes complained about the exercises I had for her, but she always thanked me for our time together. "you're a real bastard," she once told me, "but I'm grateful for you."
I'm grateful for her, too.