Seeing my mom at 92, bedridden, weak with muscle atrophy, fading memory, but still believing she’s going to get better and walk again. Still saying, “I want to be genki (healthy) again!”
She is a WWII refugee/survivor from Okinawa, Japan who immigrated to the U.S. with no family support system, spoke very little English, divorced my abusive dad and raised 4 kids on her own. Her gambare (never giv
e up) warrior spirit kept her going, regardless of her circumstances. If you’re not healthy, nothing else matters. Genki Gambare!”
Her health started to decline at 80 based on genetics and lifestyle choices, I vowed not to end up like her. I learned about the Blue Zones and found out that Okinawa is one of the 5 places on earth with one of the largest populations of centenarians, mainly women. So, as an Okinawan American woman who needed a purpose to live, I decided to be a centenarian. Another 10 years went by and I was still searching for my purpose or my “ikigai”. I went through major changes in multiple areas of my life during my 50’s. For decades, a small voice inside my heart kept nudging me to “empower women of all ages” with lessons from my life, but I didn’t have a theme. After a serendipitous encounter called Project Ruby Slippers, I realized my goal to be “Healthy to 100” with my mom’s gambare spirit is my theme to empower women. A healthy lifestyle speaks to all aspects of women; physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial. More importantly, this is a way to honor my mom with her encouraging words and mindset of “Genki Gambare!”
