Why Have I Entered the Fitness World Now, at Age 70?

For most of the past five years, in addition to focusing on my growing family in DC, I devoted energy to my elderly dad, who died last year at 94 from the ravages of Parkinson's. As he aged, I assisted him with basic mobility, flexibility, and balance exercises, as well as more hands-on physical care. He became more candid and direct, dropping any filters, as his cognitive abilities waxed and waned. One day, he asked why I wasn't a doctor. He thought I was compassionate and lovingly attentive with patients -- namely, him -- and observed that I didn't have the personality of most lawyers he knew.

A few days later, my dad decided that I must go to medical school. At this point I was 67, which he knew. He said it was never too late, and he insisted that we check the Internet to learn the requirements for becoming a doctor. Over the next few years, he repeatedly asked when I would become a doctor.

I hope my dad, wherever he is now, understands that I have succeeded at being a lawyer, and actually love law (though I now have a recurring dream in which I am back in law school and have to re-take my first-year Constitutional Law course, given that the current Supreme Court has upended so many of the principles we once held dear). I still do part-time legal consulting for financial institutions, primarily in the area of assuring compliance with anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Even now, it is never too late for anything (except for perhaps enrolling in med school at age 70, or even working towards a doctorate in physical therapy). But I do love helping folks achieve better fitness, greater agility and mobility. So I am now honoring my dad in this new focus on online or in-person training.