GetSetUp Guide Elaine: The Retired Nurse Weaving Tai Chi, Birding, and Baskets Into a Second Act

Elaine describes herself first as a weaver. 

"I have a few looms, and they are like hangers you can't close the door on them; they reproduce on their own," she says. 

The hobby has taken over enough space that "now there is space for a dining room" has become a running joke in her house. 

She's also a nurse who taught nursing part-time and ran her own wellness business: laughter and play programs, tai chi, and holistic health before fully retiring. These days, much of her time goes to her grandchildren: two girls, ages 9 and 12, and two boys, ages 2.5 and 4. Elaine splits her year mostly in Maryland, with family and friends back in Michigan.

What Is Elaine Passionate About?

Elaine's retirement is anything but slow. She and her husband bike and kayak regularly, and she's active in her community's pollinator gardens, a project her husband helps run. Her husband works to save trees in local parks by cutting invasive vines, and Elaine took that raw material and turned it into a new hobby: 

"I took a vine wrestling class to turn them into baskets," she says, folding her love of weaving into the couple's conservation work.

In addition to her personal passions, Elaine is actively embodying the GetSetUp values of being bold, empowering, curious, and hospitable as she ages. 

How Elaine Stays Bold as She Ages

Elaine isn't slowing down just because her body sometimes protests. 

"We continue to hike, bike, and kayak despite physical things telling me 'ouch,' and not giving in," she says. 

She's leaned on physical therapy and tai chi, adapting her daily routine to stay as pain-free as possible. "And it's working," she says.

How Elaine Is Hospitable in Her Community

Since moving to Maryland six years ago, just before the pandemic, Elaine has become deeply woven into her local community, literally and figuratively. She's president of the local bird club and active in the neighborhood's pollinator group. 

"We are hosting things that we hadn't," she says of her post-retirement life, including basket-making sessions with neighbors and shared food-growing projects. 

"We were growing food together, and we share, like adding bags of tomatoes."

Even in a downtown area of roughly 16,000 people, Elaine says the culture feels close-knit: 

"People are cozy with neighbors."

How Elaine Empowers Herself and Others

Through the bird club, Elaine and fellow members run programs in local schools aimed at getting kids and families outdoors. 

"We are trying to inspire people to get out in nature and take care of nature," she says, with a particular focus on pollinator gardens and reviving native insect populations. 

She's working toward becoming a certified master naturalist this fall.

Her wellness background shows up here too. Through tai chi and a holistic stress-management and chronic disease program, Elaine helps people "take control as much as they can" of their health while keeping it fun, in the spirit of the laughter-and-play programs she built her career on. 

She often returns to a favorite line from entertainer Victor Borge:

 "The shortest distance between two people is laughter."

What Is Elaine Curious About Now?

Elaine's curiosity spans the physical and the philosophical. She got certified in fascia fitness last year, which she says helped her understand "more of the science behind tai chi," and how chronic issues like plantar fasciitis and tendonitis often trace back to the fascia surrounding muscles. 

"Tai chi and qigong are infinitely fascinating," she says. "They have been observed for hundreds of years, and that's the first step of the scientific process."

She's also looking forward to her master naturalist training this fall as a way to give back. 

"I was too busy while working, but now I have the time to invest and give back," she says.

What Opportunities Has GetSetUp Given Elaine?

For Elaine, GetSetUp has been a place to both learn and teach. As a student, she's taken classes on travel, using the internet, and watercolor painting, including classes with fellow Guide Deana.

As a teacher, GetSetUp has let her finally share the side of her career she rarely got to use. 

"My teaching of nursing was always my bread and butter, and my consulting business was the frosting," she says, "but I never got to do quite as much of the holistic teaching and tai chi as I wanted." Now, she says, "I'm able to share these skills with people on GetSetUp through the classes, and I have the opportunity to share and play."

What Classes Does Elaine Teach on GetSetUp?

Elaine's GetSetUp schedule reflects her holistic wellness background, including classes in:

• Qigong and Tai Chi classes
• Tuesday wellness classes, covering ergonomics, pain management, and sleep, like specific sleep techniques and strategies
• Reflexology foot massage, rotated in with other holistic topics
• A chronic wellness program, designed specifically for group learning and interaction, in what Elaine calls "a dynamic group"

Elaine's retirement looks less like winding down and more like finally getting to use every skill she's collected over a lifetime: nursing, holistic wellness, conservation, and craft all at once as she continues to add more skills to her toolbox.

As she puts it: 

"I am so delighted to be able to share all this stuff with people, and it's energizing for me, and I'm glad to be able to continue playing."