Seniors Know How to Have a Good Time
Rose and Gary Brookhouse light up a room with their positive personalities and welcoming spirits.
One of their favorite stops is the Barstow/Shipps Senior Center, located at the Greater Midland Community Center, where they love to exercise, dance and socialize nearly every day of the week.
“It’s a fun place to come and mingle with the group and get to know people,” said Rose Brookhouse, 75, a retired childcare provider and hairdresser. “It’s a health benefit, too. Like my mother always told me: You have to take care of yourself because you’re the only one who can.”
The Barstow/Shipps Senior Center is designed for active seniors age 50 and older.
Along with exercise classes like Silver Sneakers, which the Brookhouses attend three mornings a week, there are monthly potlucks and Blast From the Past dances each month at the center.
“Many programs are designed for the social aspect of their lives,” said Amanda Ewald, 50+ Program Coordinator at the center. “We have groups that come in and play bridge, euchre, mah jonng, and billiards. We also offer an education series monthly so our seniors are continuing to learn about relative topics that affect them.”
The Brookhouses married 22 years ago and regularly exercise at the Midland Community Center five days a week. Their typical day includes a morning SilverSneaker exercise class with about 20 other seniors. Then Gary heads down to wellness room to lift weights and use the treadmill, while Rose visits the track to speed-walk or run for an hour.
“I think we both firmly believe that doing this helps our overall well-being. By keeping us more fit, we’re able to do more things at our age than we’d be able to do without it,” said Gary Brookhouse, 82, a retired pharmacist.
The Brookhouses also enjoy occasional center trips with other seniors to places such as the Lansing State Capitol or Holland Tulip Festival.
What’s their advice to other seniors worried about exercising or coming in to the center?
“We’d all welcome you with open arms. That’s the great kind of place this is,” Gary said.
For more information, contact Amanda Ewald at:
AEwald@greatermidland.org | 989.832.7937 x2270
