Friday, May 28, 2010
Elderscholars program shines at silver
Emily Paine Carter is columnist So Salem. You can contact her at 981-3430 or via e-mail.
Emily Paine Carter
Recent columns from Salem, Glenvar and western Roanoke County
Stephanie Garst was right.
The ebullient Roanoke College director of community programs and special events said she wanted the perfect speaker for the school's Elderscholar 25th anniversary celebration. She found her: Charlottesville author Bonnie B. Matheson.
The May 11 event in Olin Galleries and Theatre was a big deal: Remarks by RC President Michael Maxey. An announcement by Director of Planned Giving and Principal Gifts George W. Seals Sr. about a scholarship just endowed by Elderscholars. A fun, historic slideshow. Music by "The Stardusters" with Elderscholar Les Brown as bandleader. And. as the merry scholars have come to expect, food, glorious food!
But it was Matheson's address that gave the crowd much to chew on. From her recent book, "Ahead of the Curve," the health-and-wellness coach extracted inspirational gems -- delivered with good humor, charm, respect and engagement with her listeners.
How many of you have ever reinvented yourselves? she asked, to a flurry of hand-waving. Her book is "an intimate conversation with women in the second half of life," but as she emphasized via email, she's determined to help both genders "find fulfillment and happiness after 50 and waaaay beyond." Her premise is that "the best years actually happen in the second half of life."
Listen up, you young ones, too: even folks under 50 have said they wish they had read such a book 20 years ago.
Drawing on "real life" examples, her talk urged living a "more enjoyable and happy life right now." (The book includes more specific, practical suggestions than mentioned here. And examples from her own life are even more "open and frank" there.)
A favorite? A line from her widowed mom, when Matheson was still married: "A single woman must always sparkle." The coach now urges everyone to sparkle. (Note to self: Remember to turn on my "twinkler" system. I forget to effervesce.)
(Folks in the "sandwich generation" can appreciate Matheson's multi-layered "club" sandwich: Attending to her mom, 92; kids; grandkids; two dogs; book promotions; another book in the works; speaking engagements; coaching clients; another company dealing with childbirth....)
She emailed of having pared many interviews and hundreds of pages down to their essence for the book.
Its cover promises the guide "will help you have fun...revel in your hard-won wisdom." A blurb by author Abigail Trafford notes "...[it's] like having a fairy godmother at your shoulder...."
That tiny helper might whisper such reminders as these lines from Matheson: "It is all OK! Life is wonderful! You must be brave and seize it boldly! (But if you are not, you get many more chances!)"
