Kelly Huenergardt

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING YOUR AGE?
Feeling comfortable with myself. knowing who I am, knowing where I’ve been, and knowing where I’m going.  When you’re younger there are a lot of fears and a lot of what-ifs, but when you’re 65….it’s like, I’ve been there, done that.

WHAT HARDSHIPS HAVE YOU ENDURED THAT YOU FEEL HAVE MADE YOU STRONGER?
The heart surgeries, my parent’s divorce, and understanding the alcoholism in my family. Anybody over 65 has dealt with a lot of things, so we all have stories to tell.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?
My children! Being able to have children is wonderful. And then being alive to see them now, and then to watch my grandchildren grow. It’s amazing! I never thought that children would be my greatest achievement. I never thought of that when they were young. All I wanted them to do was grow up… so I could get on with things. But then I realized, no, this is my life! As I watched them grow, I decided that this was all I wanted.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE?
Flowers! I love flowers. In the summertime and springtime, I’m always planting flowers, and spending a lot of time in my garden. I buy flowers and then I won’t know where to put them, because I already have too many flowers.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?
My wedding ring.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING YOU HAVE CHECKED OFF YOUR BUCKET LIST?
Parasailing. I went parasailing when we were first married. I would probably never do it again. But when I went, I wasn’t afraid, and it was so much fun! It was amazing being able to fly, and being up so high that I could not tell which hotel was ours. It was really fun.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF PERFECT HAPPINESS?
Contentment with what I already have and where I’m at. Contentment is a very hard thing. There are not too many people that can really be content with what they have and who they are. To me, that’s perfect happiness.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
Be content. When I was younger, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I tried things, but then, it wasn’t a fit. Finally, when I thought I knew what I wanted to do, I was too old to do it!  My heart problem became a disability for me. I would have loved to teach speech-language and finish my Masters. Or I could have been a reading specialist and taught children and adults how to read. To teach others to read or learn English is a huge blessing. The reward is to see progress in their reading. I would tell myself to find that love and pursue it.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF WISDOM FOR YOUNGER WOMEN?
Find what you love and pursue it. I think we often don’t pursue what we really love. We think it’ll just happen, and then when it doesn’t happen, we wonder why! I think we really need to pursue what we love.

WHAT IS A TRAIT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF?
Teaching, I really like teaching.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO OR FAVORITE QUOTE?
Scars tell stories. Scars mean survival. Scars mean you showed up for the fight instead of running from it. ~ Genevieve V. Georget

WHAT DO YOU MOST VALUE IN YOUR FRIENDS?
Trust, to be able to tell them anything and not be judged, and be helpful, or just be open to hearing what I need to tell them.

HOW DID YOU CHANGE OVER THE YEARS?
I changed from a person I didn’t like, to a person I do like. When I was younger, I didn’t know what I wanted, and I didn’t really know who I was.  I was really out there, maybe showing off or trying to get attention. Then, I finally realized, it’s a lot more fun to sit back and watch everybody else, and not be the center of everything. I learned that being part of something instead of being it… is better.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
To have more confidence in what I’m doing with my life, even right now. To pursue what I love, to have strength and confidence in that. I wish I had more of that.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR THE FUTURE GENERATIONS?
That they get to know God. If you know God, you will find wisdom. Knowing God gave me a lot of direction. I think that our future generations need direction.

WHAT BRINGS YOU THE MOST JOY AT THIS AGE?
Watching our family grow old together, my kids become parents, and seeing the grandchildren growing up. It’s really fun to watch.

WHAT IS YOUR SUPERPOWER?
I would say I am an overcomer. I have overcome so many obstacles in my life. Having Tetralogy of Fallot, my heart problem, being born with it back then was like a death sentence, and then to have survived that surgery!  When I was a teen, I thought that I was fine and wouldn’t need anything else. Later, I found out that some TOF people have had up to 8 surgeries.  TOF is something you will always have to overcome. You can’t be afraid of tomorrow or what is around the corner.

I have had 3 open-heart surgeries, so far. I have a pig valve for a pulmonary valve, and I may need to have that replaced. I have a pacemaker, so the battery will need to be replaced. You can’t live in fear, you have to overcome the fear of what is going to happen tomorrow.

When I realized all of this was going to happen, or that I wasn’t fixed for life, fear set in. When I learned that I wouldn’t be able to finish my master’s program because I just couldn’t work with ADHD kids, I had to deal with surrendering that dream. Being an overcomer is just overcoming things, these obstacles that you never expected to come in your way or hinder you. Overcoming…learning that’s not an obstacle anymore, and life continues, then go past that. That’s my superpower.

DO YOU LIKE BEING 40+?
I like being 40 plus, I don’t like being 60 plus, but 40 plus is fine.

WHEN IN YOUR LIFE, SO FAR, HAVE YOU FELT MOST CONFIDENT, AND WHY?
When I finally began telling people I was writing a book. That’s when I realized I believed in myself, and that I really was writing a book. It’s one thing to say you’re writing a book in your head. But then to say it out loud to someone else…”Hey, I’m writing a book”, it’s like, wow, I’ve got to do that now, I’ve got to finish it.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?
God promised crowns for overcomers. And I’m looking forward to this. I wonder what else I will have to overcome. Be ready for whatever comes next. I would tell my kids to live without regrets, be strong, be confident, and overcome.