#93: A Century of Wisdom: Revealing the Secrets to Living a Long Life, Part 1

Everyone wants the secret to a long life, and although there may not be just one, we do uncover some of those key elements in today's episode. 

Join me as I sit down with my 104-year-old friend, Christa Belknap, to glean some beautiful wisdom from her.

This is the first in a 2-part interview with Christa Belknap, a beautiful soul who has lived her 104 years leading with love. In our conversation Christa uncovers some of the key elements of a long and fulfilling life. She shares her wisdom and life experiences, attributing her longevity to love, faith, exercise, and letting go of things no longer serving her.

From physical to spiritual self-care, Christa shares wisdom on living a long and beautiful life.  One of the earliest "fitness" models (as we might know them to be called), Christa even modeled for the newspaper in a column called "Do Not Grow Old" back in the late 30's/early 40's.  She has certainly let that element ring true as the years have passed.

Christa shares various aspects of what her life has been like, including about her family, beliefs, and the importance of staying adaptable and leading with love. The conversation highlights the significance of slowing down and being present in life and how love and connection can bring people together.

Resources:

Daily Rhythms Journal

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Join me as I sit down with my104 year old friend, Krista
Belknap, to glean some beautifulwisdom from her.

(00:26):
Welcome to Health, Harmony, andHappiness with Kathy.
I'm your host, Kathy Stricker.
I'm a state patrol wife, mama tothree lively kiddos, a yoga
teacher.
Certified NLP coach and anenergetic rhythms expert as an
energetic rhythms coach.
I help action taking women usetheir body's rhythms and the
moon cycle to optimizeproductivity and avoid burnout

(00:49):
without letting their desire toremain in control, alter their
focus.
And this podcast is all aboutdoing just that and perhaps a
bit more so that you can createyour own path.
So come along with me and maythis episode serve as a nudge to
discover tools that could helpyou on your path towards more

(01:10):
intentional living.
Enjoy the show.
Hey friends, welcome to episode93.
Hey, if you are sick of waitingfor things to change in your
life, feeling like you'reconstantly pushing through life,
thinking you just have to try abit harder, or maybe try a
different approach, or like,there's got to be a magic pill

(01:32):
out there that you can take tojust make life feel easier, or
to make your body feel better,the wisdom of your body might
actually be trying to tell yousomething.
And perhaps it's time to startlistening.
One of the best ways I know todo that is to actually start
taking a realistic look at howyou're really doing and what

(01:53):
you're doing to might.
that might be making you feelthat way.
Being able to actually see howyou're doing on paper is one of
the best ways to get an accurateobservation of what your inner
guidance may be trying to tellyou.
That's one of the reasons Icreated the Daily Rhythms
Journal, also known as the DailyRhythms Tracker, to start to

(02:14):
track and see the rhythms inyour life so that you can start
listening to what your higherself may really need instead of
going 100 miles per hour.
100 percent of the time to getstarted with the daily rhythms
journal.
Click the link in the show notesor visit cairnyogawellness.
com slash rhythms tracker anddownload your copy today.

(02:38):
Today's episode is a longawaited one for me back in
December.
I sat down with my friend KristaBelknap to talk about the secret
of life.
Krista is 104 years old andstill living and loving.
Life, she lives at home, stillattends regular meetings with
philanthropic organizationsshe's involved with, as well as

(02:59):
church gatherings and herbeautiful outlook on life, her
compassionate nature, heradaptability and desire to
continue learning are just someof the qualities that I believe
have helped her live such a longlife.
I asked followers on Facebook awhile back, what kind of
questions they might have forsomeone with this kind of wisdom

(03:19):
and the questions that weresubmitted were.
Plentiful.
And because of that, I'vecreated two episodes out of our
interview because we did have todivide the interview session
into two sessions because wewere talking so much.
So that next episode will bepart two of our, so the next
episode will actually be parttwo of our interview.

(03:41):
Grab all the show notes at CairnYoga Wellness slash podcast 93
and enjoy the show.

Cathy (04:01):
Christa, thank you so much for being here today and
for taking the time to sit downwith me and chat.
I have so many, um, questionsfor you that have come from not
only myself, but from otherpeople who.
I have invited to be in on thisprocess, so I'm excited to hear
what you have to say.

Christa (04:18):
Well, I thank you for asking me.

Cathy (04:22):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
It's, it's fascinating.
My friend Krista Belknap is, um,a dear friend and I think I've
known you Krista for probablyover 10 years, at least.
Um, and you've got a lot ofraving fans already, like I
said, because I put this out onsocial media and said, I'm going

(04:43):
to be interviewing my friend whojust recently turned 104.
And if you could sit down andask questions to someone who's
104 years old and still livingin their own home and doing
things on their own, what wouldyou want to ask?
And the response was.

(05:04):
Amazing.
I've been blown away by theamount of people who want to ask
you questions and want to justget to know almost even what
your secret sauce is, what thesecret to living such a long and
beautiful life is.
So I'm hoping that you might beable to shed some light today.

(05:24):
On how you've lived your lifeand maybe some of those things
that, um, that are just nuggetsof wisdom that you can give us
who are, who are out there stillkind of wondering and filling
our minds with, with all thethings and talking too fast,
just like I usually do.
And you, you kind of commentedto me a moment ago that you've

(05:47):
now slowed down and you probablydon't talk or think that fast
anymore.
But I was, I was chucklingbecause that's just how fast my
brain goes sometimes.
And uh, I think it's beautifulthat you've allowed yourself and
been able to slow down as you'veaged.
And as, as wisdom has.
friend.

(06:08):
Um, and so I'm just curious andI want to know a little bit more
about that.
Are you okay with sharing someof your thoughts and insights
with us today?
Sure.

Christa (06:17):
Anything you ask, I'll try my best.
Maybe my best is either slow,slower or slowest.

Cathy (06:29):
I think that's beautiful.
You know.
So Krista, that in itself is alesson that we all need to
learn.
And it's a lesson that I'll tellyou has been one of my main
messages in my business for solong is how to slow down, slow
down so that we can be moremindful so that we can see the

(06:49):
small things in life and zoomout and see the big picture.
And I think we get that way.
The more we practice slowingdown.
So I have been blessed to knowKrista, like I said, for, um,
over 10 years.
And I love that my kids now alsoget to be a witness to you and

(07:13):
to your life.
So if you wouldn't mind, wouldyou just tell the listeners a
little bit about yourself andyou don't have to tell your
whole life story, but just kindof tell some of the highlights
of your life.
So we get an overview of who youare, and then I'll go into some
other questions.

Christa (07:33):
Well, first of all, I think I've been exceptionally
blessed.
Even God was.
Watching out for me when I wasborn because I'm an adopted baby
and my parents always made mefeel like I was just the best

(07:56):
thing that ever happened tothem, which gives you much of
confidence as a child.
And as an adult, we lived in DesMoines, Iowa, and, uh, I went to
school, uh, at East High andgraduated at East High.

(08:21):
I married a man whose dream wasto have his own jewelry store,
and we were able to accomplishthat.
And that's what brought us toKnoxville, was to start a
jewelry store here.
And we were in the store for 35years

Cathy (08:39):
together.
Incredible.
Now, where was Jack from?

Christa (08:44):
Jack was born in Nashua, Iowa.
Okay.
His father How did Go ahead.
Go ahead.

Cathy (08:56):
You go.

Christa (08:58):
His father also was a jeweler, and he, uh, early on
recognized that Jack had thataptitude, and so he set up a
place in their home where hecould, uh, bring watches to him
and let him practice on them.

(09:19):
So that was

Cathy (09:21):
Fascinating.
Yes, yes.
Now how did the two of you meetthen?

Christa (09:28):
Actually, uh, we met in Des Moines.
He had moved to Des Moines andwas a stranger there, but lived
in our neighborhood.
And so we, uh, happened to rideon the same public bus, you
know.

Cathy (09:43):
That's right, that's right.
I remember you telling me this.
Uh,

Christa (09:48):
and asked me for a date, you know, and I said, I
don't know you from Adam.
You said what?
I don't know you from Eden, butI'd like to get appointed.
I invited him to come and meetmy parents, you know, before I
said yes to a date.

(10:08):
I thought, let's see if he'sserious, you know.
Yeah.
He was three years older than I,which, uh, when you're 23 seems
like a lot of years, you know?

Cathy (10:22):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, it sounds like you justhad an amazing relationship with
your parents to, to be that oneof the first things that you
wanted to, to do before you saidyes to going on a date with
someone, to have them meet him.
And see if he was serious.
What a beautiful, beautiful wayof

Christa (10:43):
living.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah.
I thought it was commonknowledge.

Cathy (10:49):
Well, maybe it was.
It's certainly not the way it istoday, is it?
No.
Things are quite different.
Very

Christa (10:56):
different.
Things are very

Cathy (10:57):
different.
Yeah.
So, if you're 104, what yearwere you born in?
1919.
So amazing.
So amazing.

Christa (11:10):
Sometimes when, uh, I fill out some kind of, uh, well,
at the hospital, for instance,you know, when they ask you, uh,
your age, and when I say 19, 19,those young girls don't think 19
existed, you know, if it doesn'thave a 20 on it, they don't.

Cathy (11:32):
It confuses them a little bit, I would imagine.

Christa (11:36):
Right,

Cathy (11:36):
right.
Oh my goodness.
Okay, so you, you, um, met Jack?
You got married.
You, did you get married beforeyou moved to Knoxville or did
you move to Knoxville?

Christa (11:49):
We, we, this is a little bit of a long story.
Jack saw an ad in the Des MoinesRegister.
A man in State Center, Iowawanted someone to run his
jewelry store for him.
He was an insurance person, buthe bought a jewelry store.

(12:11):
As was everything in it, youknow, but didn't know what to do
with it after he part.
And so Jack answered the ad inState Center, Iowa, which is
about 15 miles fromMarshalltown.
Yeah.
So when we were married, then wemoved to State Center from Des
Moines.

(12:32):
We moved to Des Moines.
I always thought it would be funto live in a small town instead
of a large town like Des Moines.
But anyway, we were there twoyears.
His grandmother lived inKnoxville and she kept telling
him that we needed a jewelrystore in Knoxville.
He said we have two jewelers,but they're both quite old and

(12:55):
they're ready to retire.
I think you should move toKnoxville.
And we eventually did.
Oh my goodness.
1941, just before Pearl Harbor.

Cathy (13:07):
1941.
Wow.
Wow.
So you've been in Knoxville eversince.

Christa (13:16):
Right.
So I know a lot of them.

Cathy (13:20):
You sure do.
You sure do.
My goodness.
And I think you've, you've liveda pretty beautiful life from
what I've heard and what I'veexperienced.
And, um, it's just amazing thatyou're still able to share.
Your wisdom and share your lightwith the world because you have
a light, Krista, and you aresharing it every time we get to

(13:45):
see you every time.
Every Sunday when I see you,every time I see you in a
meeting, every time I see youout and about, you make my heart
smile because sometimes I'll seeyou when you're coming out to
get your hair done and I'm atthe studio and I'll look out and
I'll see you.
Or when you would go to thedentist, maybe I would see you
across the way and I wouldThere's Krista and she just

(14:05):
makes my heart smile becauseshe's still getting out and
getting around.
Um, so thank you for that.
You, you inspire people in moreways than you, you maybe even
are aware of.

Christa (14:18):
Well, yes, that's true.
I was not aware.
And you were watching me,

Cathy (14:24):
not in a weird stalker way or anything, but it's kind
of like a God wink I'm notalways up and looking out the
windows, but just occasionallyI'll just happen to look out the
window and there you are.
And I'm like, Oh, Hey, there'sKrista.
So, I don't know.
I don't know.
It's just kind of a nice littleconnection.
I think that God says.
Hey, remember this, rememberthis, live more like this woman.

(14:47):
And speaking of that, um, whatare some of the roles that you
played over the course of yourlife?
So mom, um, what, what were someof the things that you did in
the community?
You were a mom, you were a wife.
What are some of the otherthings and the roles that you
played?

Christa (15:07):
Oh dear.
I'd have to think about it.
I think I belong to fourorganizations.
Which for over 50 years, youknow, incredible, like PEO and
then a study club.
And I've been active in mychurch all these years and love

(15:27):
that.
I've taught Sunday school from,uh, teenage years.
Some people didn't like to trythe teenagers.
So teenagers, you know, and I, Ihad a class of newlyweds.
One time, which was lots of fun.

Cathy (15:49):
This is through church and you worked with them or
taught them?
Beautiful

Christa (15:55):
church.
I

Cathy (15:59):
just said, that's beautiful.

Christa (16:01):
Oh, thank you.
Yeah, I had a den of Boy Scoutswhen my son was in 3rd, 4th, and
5th grade is when, when they areCub Scouts, and even yet today,

(16:23):
when some of those boys comehome to visit their parents, why
they will either come by or callme, and I feel very Blessed, you
know, that there's my denmother.
I went to a birthday party andhe recognized me and he said,

(16:43):
well, there's my den mother.

Cathy (16:46):
That's incredible.

Christa (16:47):
I know how teachers feel, you know, uh, when, when
five years after they leftschool, they go by their house
and wave at them, you know,that's, those are some of the.
Ideas of, of living in a smalltown rather than living like a

(17:09):
boy or Chicago or St.
Louis, for me anyway.

Cathy (17:14):
Yeah, that's beautiful.
Very fulfilling.
What do you think the mostfulfilling role is that you've
played?
in life, or that you've had.

Christa (17:24):
Being active in my church, that's the most
important.
I love it.
And the church helps you be thekind of person that you want to
be.
I still enjoy my adult Sundayschool class.

(17:45):
I think there are a limitednumber of people that enjoy,
still enjoy a class.
I have always enjoyed my Sundayschool class.
What do you

Cathy (17:56):
enjoy most about it?

Christa (18:01):
Probably the teaching.
You know, we've been sofortunate, uh, right now our
teacher is a psychologist, andso we get.
Um, psychology mixed in with ourSundays, you know, and, and it's
fun and I enjoy it.

(18:23):
And I love one of them in myclass.

Cathy (18:28):
That's beautiful.
That's beautiful.
You get some differentperspectives then, and, and I
suppose as you have differentteachers.
Different teachers bringdifferent things, right, and
different elements, and it helpsmake us more well rounded, and
opens our eyes, and opens ourhearts to new things and new
ways of being.

Christa (18:45):
Right.

Cathy (18:49):
So, here's a question.
How do you spend your time now?

Christa (18:56):
Pretty much the same, but just not as often, you know,
for instance, uh, I have threeladies who help me, like one
person does shopping for me, onelovely, lovely lady volunteered

(19:17):
to take me to church on Sunday.
She's

Cathy (19:20):
a pretty incredible lady, isn't she?

Christa (19:24):
Yeah.
When she volunteered, I'm sureshe didn't think I was going to
live for 10 more years.

Cathy (19:29):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And she's right, she's righthere in the, she's right here in
the, in the interview as well.
So Kay is just, what a blessing.
What a blessing.
Yes, she is.
Krista, you were driving untilyou

Christa (19:45):
were in your late nineties.
Oh yes.

Cathy (19:51):
Yeah, let that be known.
How old were you when youstopped driving?
Do

Christa (19:56):
you remember?
Must've been 98.
98.
98.
But I decided myself, my kidsdidn't have to tell me that I
should quit driving.
You know, some people are justfrantic because they have to

(20:17):
give up their car.
I've never felt that way.

Cathy (20:22):
It's our ability to have freedom.
It's our ability, you know, to,um, I mean, that's what we,
that's what the mind ties it tois that ability to have freedom
and to, to be independent.
Right.
Um, so yeah, I think it is hardfor a lot of people.
I think.
Why wasn't it as difficult orchallenging for you?

Christa (20:48):
I really don't know, but I felt when you try to load
a walker into the back seat of acar, and then walk up to the
front seat when you have bad legtrouble, you know you're just
asking for a fall.
And I didn't want a fall.

(21:08):
And I thought, well, it's notworth taking a chance.
So I would rather Depend onother people who can drive cars
rather than I'll be in thehospital and so on.

Cathy (21:24):
What a beautiful perspective.
What a beautiful perspective.
Yeah, and it's probably a littlecumbersome to have to, um, load
things like that into a car.
So make it a little bit easieron yourself.
Right.

Christa (21:41):
Right.
Your third person

Cathy (21:43):
helps.
You said shopping and drivingand your

Christa (21:47):
third person.
That would be your helper

Cathy (21:52):
that comes in and on

Christa (21:54):
Saturday and helps.
Ruth.
Oh, Ruth.
Yeah.

Cathy (21:59):
Okay, and then you have someone who comes in on, on
Saturdays to help you.
Yes.

Christa (22:03):
Uh huh.
She helps me with That'sbeautiful.
Gower first.
She's a retired nurse,registered nurse, retired and
had worked in various hospitals,you know, for probably 40 years.
Sure.
She's 80.
She's 80.
Oh

Cathy (22:22):
my gosh.
Oh

Christa (22:23):
my goodness.
Something like that.
But anyway, then she's willingto stay and, uh, like, what are
my flowers that I can't reach?
I'm short, you know, and toomany things I can't reach when
I'm in the wheelchair.
And so, she's willing to stayand she's a lovely, lovely

(22:43):
person.

Cathy (22:45):
God has really filled you up in so many ways.
And, and made sure that you'resupported and cared for, and
that you can still doing thething, do the things that are
caring for others and givingback to others.
That's right.
Right.

(23:05):
So incredible.
What brings you the most delightor even joy every day?
And how has that changed overthe years or has it changed over
the years?

Christa (23:18):
In some respects, yes, but, uh, I have a son and a
daughter and they have beenalways my life.
They've been a joy and stillare.
My son calls me every day in theevening after he gets home from
work.
You know, and then the daughter,uh, we are in constant contact

(23:42):
because we email and talk on thephone.
You know, my family, you know,have been probably the greatest
joy in my life.
And then friends, friends that Imake, you know, uh, have made my

(24:03):
life feel very fulfilled.

Cathy (24:07):
That's beautiful.
That's beautiful.
And your son and daughter arepretty amazing people.
I know I've gotten to meet thema few times and spend a little
bit of time with them, but it'sso cool that you connect with
them and talk over email and youtalk on the phone with them
every day.
And, uh, that's just what abeautiful relationship that your

(24:30):
parents taught you to have andto cultivate.
And then you were able to passthat down to your children.
And it was one of compassion andlove and tenderness.
And, um, were there times inyour life when your kids kind of
wanted nothing to do with youwhen they were teenagers or when
they were, you know, was that,was there a time in your life

(24:50):
when they.
Kind of pulled

Christa (24:52):
away.
I really was not aware of thatif it happened

Cathy (25:00):
So what how did what did you how did you parent them?
So that that didn't happen.
I

Christa (25:09):
think just with love Honest love and I think was
because they always felt likewell I felt with my parents that
they were the most importantthing in our lives You know, and
they still are, they still are,yeah.

(25:32):
Gosh,

Cathy (25:32):
that is a beautiful message.
That is just a beautifulmessage.
For anybody out there who israising kids.
And, man, cause it's hard.
It's hard.
It's a lot of

Christa (25:46):
work.
It is.
A lot of things that you don'timagine ahead of time, you know.
Yeah,

Cathy (25:56):
yeah.
And they are busy.
You know my kiddos.
And you know Lulu.
And Lulu is fire, and she's alittle busy person.

Christa (26:08):
She is something else, that's true.

Cathy (26:13):
Oh boy, she's going to do great things.

Christa (26:15):
Both of my children were, uh, Amazed at her, you
know, how she gets what hewants, what Lulu wants, Lulu
gets.
Oh my gosh.

Cathy (26:29):
And we try, like we put limits and we try to stop that,
but like she is one determinedlittle booger.
She is, she is going after whatshe wants in this life.
That's for sure.

Christa (26:46):
It'll be interesting to see how he develops, you know,
as you, yeah, they're so fast,they

Cathy (26:56):
are, they are, and she's been doing, I've just noticed in
the past few weeks that she hasstarted to, um, respect
boundaries a little bit more andshe's really starting to like.
Okay, well, if, if we say no tosomething, she's starting to
grasp like, oh, okay, well,maybe we can do it next time.
Yes, maybe we can do it nexttime, you know, and I'm, I'm so

(27:17):
glad that, knock on wood, knockon wood, I'm so glad that she is
starting to be a little bit, um,more adaptable in those ways.

Christa (27:29):
It appears to me that you are a wonderful mother.
Well, thank you.

Cathy (27:36):
Thank you.
Okay, so we're going to switchgears just a little bit out of
parenting.
And, um, like I said, everybodythat I talked to about this kind
of really just wants to knowwhat your secret for living such
a long and healthy life is.
So if you've got the quick andeasy answer, then please Please
share.

(27:56):
We'll share it with the world,but if not, then if you could
reflect back on your life, whatare some of the things that you
attribute to living such a longlife?
I know you've mentioned God.
I know you mentioned family.
Um, what are some of the otherthings that maybe you can
attribute?
to how you cared for yourself orhow you, um, you managed your

(28:21):
health to live such a long life.
Well,

Christa (28:26):
I think medical people will tell you that, uh, heredity
has something to do with it, youknow, and of course Know nothing
about my parents since I wasadopted.
Yeah.
The doctor said to me, uh, inthe beginning, when my first

(28:51):
child was born, she said, no,Since we don't know, you know,
your heredity, uh, you watchyour children, and if anything
comes up, you know, that'sserious, you be sure to let me
know.
Uh, well, nothing ever did, andmy children, evidently they

(29:13):
both, you know, inherited aneasy life.

Cathy (29:19):
Yeah, doesn't that, but I wonder also, yes, genetics play
a role.
And also we know that nurtureplays a role too.
And I wonder if there's somesort of link or connection to
the fact that you really ledwith love and led with
connection with your kids fortheir entire lives.

(29:39):
And it just makes me wonder if.
On a cellular level, that amountof love and compassion can bleed
into a person and, and changetheir genetic outcome or change,
change, you know, so that theirenergetic level rises up to meet

(30:01):
that, which they are beingnurtured with.

Christa (30:06):
Well, I think you're right.
I think that probably fits intothe equation.
But I think, well, first of all,I think I was I know I was, uh,
in probably seventh grade when Ibegan to take my But to be

(30:34):
really serious about what I, howI felt about God, you know, and
I want a relationship with him.
And, uh, also I, I think howyou, well, for instance, I
decided long, early in my life,There wasn't going to be no

(31:00):
smoking and no alcohol, youknow, I think my teachers had
such a effect on me.
Uh, both school teachers andSunday school teachers, both,
you know, I remember being inthe third grade.

(31:21):
We had what was called hygieneclass in third grade.
And I remember, you know, justbeing fascinated by it.
What the teacher would tell usabout white corpuscles and red
corpuscles and that sort ofthing.
And, and, and at church it wasemphasized that your body is a

(31:45):
temple of God.
You should take care of it.
You shouldn't do, destroy yourbody deliberately, you know.
Never was tempted to smoke or todrink.
And of course, a lot of peoplethink, you know, how can you
have any fun without one or theother or both, you know, but I

(32:09):
think it had something to dowith my health.
Yeah, I know my husband, myhusband smoked and, and I really
feel like he would have lived 10years longer if he had never
ever smoked, you know, sure.

Cathy (32:28):
Did he quit smoking at any point in time over the
course of your life with him?

Christa (32:32):
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
He began to be afraid that maybehe was getting lung cancer or
something, you know, coughed up.
Yeah.

Cathy (32:45):
So he did add years to his life just by quitting
smoking for sure.
Yeah.
But yeah, that would have beeninteresting to see.

Christa (32:57):
It was interesting because within three weeks after
he quit, I heard him talking toour next door neighbor at the
lake.
We were at the lake fishing andI heard him trying to talk her
into giving up smoking.
He told her how much better hefelt, you know, and he was

(33:18):
trying to talk her into givingup smoking, which.
Wow.
It amazes me, you know.
Yeah.

Cathy (33:26):
But I do think He kind of became an advocate then for it.

Christa (33:30):
I do think the other adults in your life, besides
your parents Have, have a greateffect on how you take care of
yourself, you know, and how youlive your life and, and how you
react to other people's love,you know.

(33:50):
Yeah.
Krista, when you

Cathy (33:53):
worked at the newspaper in Des Moines, You were

Christa (33:57):
the model for exercise pictures.
Yes, right.
Do you want to

Cathy (34:02):
tell about that?
Please do.
Oh my goodness, I have not everheard this story.

Christa (34:09):
Yeah, I, after I, uh, graduated from high school, it
was all, and the depression hada great effect on everybody's
life.
You know, everybody that I know.
I suppose there were people whoweren't affected by it.
But, but, uh.
All of our friends, everybodythat we knew, their life changed

(34:30):
greatly because of thedepression.
But, so I graduated from EastHigh School and then I looked
for a job.
And I got a job at the DesMoines Register and Tribune in
the syndicate department.
And the syndicate department,uh, had all the people that can,

(34:57):
that contributed to the paper,but didn't That were not on the
staff, you know, and maybe itcame from various places.
But anyway, uh, there was awoman, I think her last name was
Lauman, and she had a piece inthe, regularly in the paper

(35:20):
called, uh, Do Not Grow Old.
I believe it was called.
This has been a long time ago.
I haven't thought about this ina while.
But anyway, uh, along with thethings that she wrote about
taking care of yourself, therewere pictures of.
Somebody exercising, and I hadalways exercised all my life.

(35:44):
I was a little bit like Lulu,you know, I think I, if there
wasn't anything else to do, Iwas out in the backyard doing
cartwheels.
And I've always liked toexercise and I was still
exercising in Knoxville.
three times a week, uh, at thepool.
I like to go to the pool and soI exercise three times a week up

(36:07):
till 95.
That's incredible.
Yeah, uh, the lady that was incharge of seeing that that Peace
got in the paper every day, uh,asked me if I, if I would, I was
the youngest person in thedepartment.
And she said, would you pose forexercises?

(36:31):
I said, sure, I'd love to do herexercises, the lady that wrote
it, you know.
So that's how it happened.
It was a part of my job.

Cathy (36:40):
That's incredible.
What year would that have been,or when, when would that have
been?
What years, maybe?

Christa (36:46):
Well, I graduated in 1939.
Oh, 37.
I graduated in 37, so it wouldhave been 38, 39, 40.
That is incredible.
I was like 20.
Twenty two.

Cathy (37:04):
I mean, when you think about it, exercise was not a big
thing back then, was it?
I mean, not, not nearly as much,obviously, as it is now, but
people did so much more manuallabor, so I feel like it wasn't,
it almost wasn't as necessary,right?

Christa (37:26):
Well, correct, yeah.
It wasn't advertised as much.
But I always, in high school, wehad a pool.
Not every high school has itsown pool.
We had a pool.
And so part of your phys ed was,to me, so many weeks every

(37:47):
semester you had to go to thepool.
And of course, a lot of girls,you know, oh, they didn't want
to get their hair wet.
They just, so on.
But I, I loved it.
I love going to the pool.
I love my physical class.
You know, I never lie to get, toget exempt.

(38:11):
You know, some people would

Cathy (38:13):
lie.
You don't want to get sweaty inthe middle of the day.
You don't want to, yeah, I getit.

Christa (38:19):
Oh, you know, yeah, you go back to, you go back to a
class with your hair all wet.
You know, don't look your best,you know.

Cathy (38:28):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I get it.
I get it.
Oh my goodness.
Well, that's something we havein common.
I didn't know.
PE was probably one of myfavorite classes for most of my
life.
And I loved, but that's why Iwent to school for exercise
science because I loved thehuman body and how it could move
and how you could, how you couldjust feel the energy when you

(38:50):
moved.
And, and, you know, I didn'tknow that at the time that
that's what I was doing wasmoving energy and shifting
things around.
I just knew that it made me feelreally good and I liked moving
and I liked being active.
Um, that's

Christa (39:04):
beautiful.
And you, you are still that way.
I noticed when you were sittingon the floor, you had one foot
clear out there.

Cathy (39:13):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Um, were you there at church theday that I did a cartwheel down
the aisle?

Christa (39:21):
Now say it

Cathy (39:22):
again.
Were you at church the day thatI did a cartwheel down the
aisle?

Christa (39:27):
Oh, no, no,

Cathy (39:28):
no.
I wish.
Oh, Krista.
I wish you would have beenthere.
We might have to find that on,on YouTube.
It was the day we turned, we'returning in pledge cards and, um,
Pastor Jamie was asking us tolike dance basically down the
aisle.
And we had talked about thismonths ago.
He was like, it would be greatif you wanted to do cartwheels.

(39:48):
So of course.
I didn't cartwheel down theaisle, I guess.
I just cartwheeled in the frontof the church.
Oh boy.
Yeah.
That's one of my goals in lifeis I still want to be doing
cartwheels when I'm 60.
So I just got to keep doing it.

Christa (40:06):
I think that too, I think if I, if I do this every
day, you know, till I die, I'llstill be able to do it, but you
get too involved in too manythings, you know, you don't get
the everyday.

Cathy (40:21):
That's right.
Sometimes you go through seasonswhere you just have to do what
you can, right?
And even if it's just a littlebit, um, a little bit of
priority time for yourself everyday, it's better than, than
nothing, right?
And priority time looks a littlebit different.
Sometimes my priority time isjust the time that I'm spending

(40:41):
with God and I don't have timeto, to move my body as
intentionally as I would liketo.
Um, sometimes it's sitting andjournaling.
Sometimes it's getting togetherwith friends and socializing.
But most every day, my prioritytime also involves some sort of
intentional movement.
What about you?
What are the things that you door have done over the years to

(41:06):
connect with yourself and tomake nurturing yourself a
priority?

Christa (41:13):
Well, I think maybe my, just my desire to attend church
regularly, you know, and, and tostudy my Sunday school lesson
and enjoy the conversation thatgoes on.
Between people who are seriousabout their relationship with

(41:39):
God, you know, yeah,

Cathy (41:43):
yeah, what's the hardest belief that you've had to let go
of in life?
that ended up maybe helping youthe most.
For instance, you used to thinkthis way, but when you finally
realized you needed to let thatway of thinking go and start

(42:05):
thinking another way, it endedup helping or changing the
course of your lifedramatically.

Christa (42:13):
I would have to think about that a while.

Cathy (42:16):
It's a tricky

Christa (42:17):
one.
Uh, it is.
It is.
Maybe I give up things easierthan some people, I don't know,
just like my car, you know.
Maybe I don't become asattached, but I think I'm that
attached to my home.
See, I'm fighting now to keep myhome and not have to go to a

(42:41):
nursing home.
And I still do simple exercises.
I have to do them in bed.
You know, I can't get up anddown on the floor, but exercises
in bed and I do exercisesbecause I have arthritis and I'm

(43:02):
not able to do the kind ofexercises I used to do, but I
still do exercises night andmorning.
So still,

Cathy (43:14):
still taking care of

Christa (43:15):
yourself.
Well, I had to give up going tothe pool, see.
Uh, but I realized there was noway I could do it from now on,
you know.
I, I was 95 when.
When my, when my knee just wouldnot support me anymore and it

(43:37):
wasn't anything surgery couldcorrect.
So I had to be in a wheelchair.

Cathy (43:46):
It sounds like you're just such an incredibly
adaptable person and you havebeen able to realize that just
as much as we want to be able toinvite new things into our
lives, we also have to let go ofthings that are no longer
serving us.
And it seems like maybe that's aquality that's come fairly easy

(44:08):
to you over the years.

Christa (44:10):
Evidently.
It's beautiful.
You know, it just happens andyou really don't know, you know.
Yeah.

Cathy (44:19):
That's beautiful.

Christa (44:23):
But I think I'm, I'm a happy, I tell my kids I'm a
happy camper, you know.

Cathy (44:30):
That's good.
That's good.
So what do you believe yourpurpose is or was in life?
Do you still believe that youhave a purpose?
Yes.
Yes.

Christa (44:48):
Well, love, I think, I think maybe love is of
everything, you know, nature,which God has provided.
Um, our, our attachment to ourfriends, neighbors, uh,

(45:12):
relatives.
I just, and, and trying to,trying to remain a cap, happy
camper with whatever life haschosen to throw in your way.
Just to be able to accept it,you know, I think it's

(45:36):
important.

Cathy (45:39):
Yeah, I think so many times it can, it could be easy
to get stuck and to dwell on.
Either what we don't have or howthings are changing or, um,
keeping something that we reallydesire or really want.
But it sounds like you're sayingpart of that secret is to be

(45:59):
able to trust the process oflife, to be able to surrender to
this, um, higher energy force,which we call God and trust his
plan.
over our own plan.
And it sounds like you reallywere able to embrace that
thought and idea from a youngage so that it could lead you

(46:19):
into your life and, and help yougo with the flow even more.
Well, thank you.
Yeah.
What a beautiful quality.

Christa (46:31):
I hope that I impressed people that way.

Cathy (46:37):
It's just incredible to me, Krista, how you have just
led with, with love over theyears.
And in doing so, it has broughtso much togetherness instead of
division in your life.
And I want to thank you forcontinuing that purpose on in
life and sharing your light withthe world because it's a light

(47:01):
and a message that needs to beheard right now.
We are in such a world ofdivision and everybody wanting
to be right in their own way.
And you bring this message andthis beautiful light that says
let's look at all sides.
Let's just lead with love and,and it brings people together.
So thank you for that.

(47:23):
Oh, thank you.
For

Christa (47:24):
reminding us.
And I think you're well on theway to, to being the kind of
person you want to be.

Cathy (47:33):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, friends.
That's all I've got for youtoday.
Part two of our interview willbe coming out.
In just a couple of weeks.
So stay tuned because Krista hasso much more goodness to share
with you.
I hope that you have enjoyedlistening to her as much as I
enjoyed just sitting in andslowing down and being still to,

(47:57):
to listen.
To what she had to say, I knowshe's got a lot of stories to
tell.
And part of my reason for doingthis episode or these episodes
is because I want to preservethat.
I want to be able to preservesome of this beautiful woman's
journey through life and be ableto share that because as we said

(48:18):
in the podcast, so often weforget to slow down, we forget
to be still and we forget tojust tune into what's really
important, what's reallyessential and that's family and
that's taking care of yourselfand not overdoing it, not
burning yourself out.

(48:39):
But instead, tuning in to whatyour body's wisdom can tell you,
tuning into what you need themost.
That's all I've got for youtoday.
I will see you next time.
Stricker and you've beenlistening to Health, Harmony,
and Happiness with Kathy.
Cheers to cultivating a globalimpact through health, harmony,

(49:00):
and happiness.