What a Blessing
Several years ago, I along with my colleague, Kristin Hiemstra interviewed several ordinary women who were able to accomplish extraordinary things. Our plan was to highlight the stories as a way to inspire all of us to live our best lives. Below is the story of one of these amazing women.
In July of 2017, we had the privilege to meet with Harriette Thompson. She generously granted us an in person interview at her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She simply said that she’d welcome us and that her door would be open when we arrived. Incredibly at 94, Harriette had already accomplished more on this particular Saturday than I did on a typical day at the age of 52. She attended exercise class in the morning, made out several birthday gift packages for the residents of her retirement community and was going shopping with a friend after our interview. During our visit, she even played a recital on her piano. With a sweet, joyful voice and laugh, it was apparent that Harriette lived her life to the fullest. Harriette was a concert pianist, marathon runner starting at the age of 76 as well as a loving mother, wife and inspirational role model in the community.
The biggest lessons we learned from Harriette are:
Find the blessings in life’s challenges
From having a piano teacher that was extra hard on her which she credits to pushing her to strive to be the best student possible, to getting cancer twice and not letting that get in her way, to running full marathons in honor of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society starting at the age of 76, she found the blessing or lesson in each experience.
Do something worthwhile every day
Harriette considered her Mother to be an ideal role model who taught her to have a sense of purpose every day. This started early with Harriette; she shared that she walked 2 miles at the age of 5 to visit her Mother’s Best Friend. She gave her first piano concert at the age of 7 and played 24 different pieces for a group of her Mother’s friends. On the day we interviewed Harriette, she showed us the birthday gifts that she carefully packaged and delivered anonymously to the residents of her retirement community. She also raised over $100,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society after running in the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon 16 times. Harriette humbly shared that giving a piano concert is much more difficult than running a marathon; she didn’t know why people were making such a fuss over her marathon participation.
Establish your own unique identity
Harriette shared how fortunate she was to have such a supportive husband who encouraged her to pursue her career and life interests. So, even though she was spouse and mother to 4 children, she pursued a career as a pianist and in fact taught piano at Boston University, earned an Artist’s Diploma from the Vienna Conservatory; performed at Carnegie Recital Hall, and on the Cruise Ship Queen Elizabeth II; she received a Master’s in Music from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and played benefit concerts at the Aspen Chapel during the summers she spent in Aspen, Colorado.
Harriett truly lived a life that she loved and I feel honored to have met her. We learned that a few months after meeting with her, she passed away in October of 2017. My hope is to share this story as a way of honoring her memory.
