Evviva Maria!

I want to give a great big shout-out to my friend Maria Berry. Maria, you may remember, guarded the nest as a guest blogger (here and here). She is one of my dear friends- a wonderful, vibrant, upbeat person who is fun-loving, witty, and very intelligent. That she has overcome hurdles, crises, and difficult situations while maintaining all those qualities is amazing. She is involved in her community, is a consummate encourager of everyone she knows, maintains a vineyard, and just recently retired from her second (or maybe fifth?) career as a personal trainer.

Sound a little bit like a super-woman? Well, actually she is. Or maybe more like Woman of Steel. You see, Maria recently competed - at the age of 61 - in a heavy-duty bodybuilding competition known as "The Rocky". This is no lightweight affair; according to the organizers it is the "largest and most prestigious amateur bodybuilding, fitness & figure organization in the USA" and is also "the only avenue to the IFBB-The ultimate in Professional bodybuilding, fitness and figure". Yes, I was impressed by that too.

She garnered a write-up and photo spread in a magazine section of the Albuquerque Journal.



Gorgeous, no? She makes 61 looks pretty damn good. You can read the article here.

So Maria...complimenti! Sei bravissima! You have stared the animal of Aging in the face, and given him a good swift kick in the teeth!