For the past three years, I have spent my summer mornings teaching water aerobics at 8:00am, five days a week. Women of all ages come for a morning workout.

Doing this, of course we talk and I started to learn about their personal lives, their habits, their likes and dislikes, and more. But the unique thing about it is that I learned something special from them. All of the women are remarkable, but there is one that sticks out in my mind.

Her name is Lois and she is 89 years old. What makes this woman so special is that she is full of life. This woman has so much insight and such a big heart. She is full of wisdom and has incredible stories.

From spending my summers with her, I believe that she has taught me secrets to life. I know there is not a definite answer as to how we should live life, but if there were one, I would definitely include these three tips.

1. Appreciate every day you have on Earth.

Take a minute or two to fully appreciate how beautiful the day is. A week wouldn’t go by where we would comment on the weather. This would then lead to talking about how beautiful it was outside. On these days, the sun would be just above the horizon, the sky would be an incredible shade of blue, and the clouds would be as fluffy as cotton balls. We would also listen to the sound of leaves rustling in the wind or the birds singing and it would be absolutely perfect. As a group, we could spend minutes in silence just because it was that peaceful. It was a great time for reflection. Those moments are something I will cherish.

2. Exercise every day.

Lois walks over a mile and a half one way to the pool just for aerobics. She has been walking on a daily basis for many, many years. Very rarely does she drive her car because she loves walking. During aerobics, she is one of the most flexible women there. She is fully capable of performing all the moves, the stretches. She is always full of energy, and more. One reason this woman loves aerobics so much is because, as she has said so herself, it is a great workout. Lois loves exercising. She strongly believes in exercising everyday to keep your muscles and joints moving.

3. Always order a large blizzard from Dairy Queen.

On any given day we can cover a hundred different topics. The topics can range from how the week has gone to restaurants in town to politics to life experiences and more. There was one day we started talking about ice cream and Dairy Queen came up. We started talking about our favorite blizzards and the sizes we get. I can only eat a small blizzard. I don’t think I have ever had anything bigger. Lois, on the other hand, always gets a large blizzard and eats the whole thing. I thought to myself, why not get a large blizzard? Ice cream is delicious, especially now I believe it will keep you young at heart.

From my own experiences, these tips have definitely made me happier. It gives me the opportunity to really reflect on my life and make small but meaningful improvements. God has blessed us with some of the most stunning mornings, he has given me a body that is able to move in incredible ways, and finally, he has given us the ever-delicious DQ Blizzard.

Lois is a remarkable woman that I have looked up to for years. She never missed a day of aerobics unless she absolutely had to. It has been such a pleasure to get to know her and the rest of the women from aerobics. I have learned so much from each of them and I am grateful for that.