What began as a personal decision became an inspiring journey, one recently celebrated in Elder Life magazine, a supplemental issue of Hagerstown magazine. Now, as she turns 77 this month, my mom, Jenny, has shown me, and everyone who loves her, that it is never too late to begin.

When my mom turned 72, she was on a short road to the end. I am not overexaggerating. She was a near shut-in due to health issues. Afraid to go out because she struggled so much and, “classic Jenny”, she didn’t want to “put anyone out”. I can’t tell you the exact moment or event that led to her deciding to do something, but I can tell you it started with literally being able to walk 50 feet without falling or passing out.

As her daughter, I am incredibly proud of her. This journey has never been just about exercise, weight, or appearance though she takes great pleasure in wearing my clothes now. It has been about courage, consistency, and choosing herself after a lifetime of caring for everyone else. I have watched her keep showing up, one day at a time, with determination and grace. Seeing her embrace this chapter of life has been a gift for my brother Jon and me.

My mom’s confidence today is especially meaningful because that is not how I would have described her even just a few years ago. As a child, she struggled with stuttering, and with the self-consciousness and uncertainty that can come from feeling different. Her parents had lived through the Great Depression and World War II, a time when many struggles were kept private and people were often expected to simply carry on. She came into adulthood in the 1960s as a closet hippie.

One of my favorite memories of my mom’s spirit happened when I took her with me on a business trip to San Francisco. I asked her what she wanted to do while we were there, and without hesitation, she said she wanted to go to Haight-Ashbury. It made perfect sense. My mom has always been a “hippie at heart”, but as a young person she suppressed that part of herself because it would not have been well tolerated by those around her. It is astonishing to think about how for over 70 years she was a caterpillar. There has always been this wonderfully spirited part of her, ready to explore something new. She is now a butterfly.

Those early experiences shaped her, sometimes making it harder for her to speak up or believe fully in herself but she built a life rooted in perseverance. We were not a wealthy family and for years, my mom worked overnight at the Frederick News-Post, so she could be home with my brother Jon during the day. While many people were sleeping, she was working. That kind of sacrifice is easy to overlook from the outside, but as her daughter, I know what it meant. It meant love. It meant commitment. It meant doing what needed to be done for her family, even when it was hard. It meant a sleeping disorder.

My mom has also faced mental health struggles as an adult. Those seasons were real, and they were difficult, but they were never the whole of who she was. Through them, she continued to care for her family and meet her responsibilities. In many ways, her commitment to health and fitness later in life represents more than physical change. It represents healing, bravery, and the decision to give herself the same care and encouragement she has so often given to others.

There is so much joy in this season of her life. In one of my favorite examples of her willingness to keep trying new things, she got her ears pierced at 76. My mom is still becoming, still exploring, still choosing courage, fun, and possibility.

What makes her story so powerful to me is that it is not a story of overnight change. It is a story of steady commitment. At 72, she chose to begin a new chapter. At 77, she is living proof that growth can continue at any age. Her health journey has brought physical strength, but it has also revealed the strength that was always there: the strength of a woman who has worked hard, loved deeply, endured challenges, and kept choosing life.

My brother and I are proud of her beyond words.

Jamey Tobery-Nystrom has been an educator, advocate, and community program leader for the past 33 years whose work has focused on strengthening family engagement in early childhood readiness, preparing future teachers, particularly in the areas of special education, and most recently, serving the graduate and doctoral programs at Frostburg State University. 

In 2014 Tobery-Nystrom’s founded FSU HUB@USMH, a grant-funded project designed to address pre-K and kindergarten readiness in Washington County, Maryland. By 2018 it expanded to include Frederick County, Maryland, and became recognized by families and community partners as a valued and highly successful model of support.

Following retirement from university life, Tobery Nystrom established the non-profit Partners in Learning Atelier or PLÀ reflecting a continued commitment to collaborative, community-centered approaches that help families of young learners thrive. She is enjoying daily swims and hanging with her first grandchild, Zara.