Miriam Waugh
40 Faces of the J
When I first pulled up to the Levine JCC, I hadn’t even walked through the doors before something felt right. My daughter Leslie belongs to the J, and she kept telling me how wonderful it was and that I needed to come see it. So I did. The building, the trees, everything was so peaceful. I loved it before I ever walked inside.
I signed up, and the following week I started taking aerobics classes in the morning. Afterward, I wandered over to the Oasis Adult Center just to see what was going on. I stayed and listened. Then I came back a second time. And that was it. I fell in love with all those women.
I had lived in California for almost 60 years. That was where my life was — my friends, my community, everything I knew. Coming to Charlotte meant leaving all of that behind for a place where I knew no one but my daughter. Walking into the JCC reminded me of home. That’s when I knew I would be all right here.
The move came at a difficult time for our family. My husband, Howard, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s just before we came to Charlotte. At home, there is a routine, and the routine doesn’t stop. The J is where I get to set it down for a few hours. I leave the house around 8:30 in the morning and come home around 2:30. Those hours are mine. I swim. I exercise. I see my friends. I sit down to lunch.
Some of the women at Oasis have cared for someone with Alzheimer’s themselves, so I come away with something useful every time — a suggestion, an idea, a way to handle a situation I hadn’t thought of before. And by the time I walk back in my door, I am ready again. I need that place.
At 81, it isn’t easy to meet new people. But at the Levine JCC, I found a whole community of women who are friendly and warm. They really like me, and I love them. Everywhere I go, I feel that warmth. The women in my swim class are friendly, and the instructors are wonderful. There is something so nice about walking into a locker room full of women laughing, women who have known each other for years. Then I come to Oasis after swimming, and that whole big group looks up and calls out, “Good morning! How are you?” They’re happy to see me walk in.
And eventually, I found a way to show some of these women what they mean to me. I’m an artist, and one day someone was coming to speak at Oasis when I noticed a woman I had never met. She had a side ponytail and was wearing a Bubba Gump sweatshirt. I looked at her and thought, She would make a wonderful portrait. I asked if I could photograph her, and she said yes. I started painting her at Holt Studios, where I take art classes.
Somewhere in the middle of that painting, I realized I didn’t want to stop at one. These women are fantastic. I wanted to honor them by giving them their portraits. One of my fellow artists suggested that I turn the portraits into an exhibition at the JCC. I wrote to Julie Rizzo and explained what I hoped to do. She answered right away. We met, and she embraced the whole idea. Emma, Anna and John have helped me every step of the way. And now those portraits are hanging on the wall.
To me, they are portraits of the women I have come to love. But they are also portraits of what makes this place so special: belonging.
As the Levine JCC celebrates 40 Years of Excellence, I may not have been here for all 40 years, but I can feel them. I see what the JCC gives to young people. You hear the children laughing. They’re involved in everything. Then there are the women who come to Oasis, and every one of them will tell you they love coming because they found a community of friends here. Otherwise, so many of those hours might be spent alone in the house. That’s what excellence looks like to me. Not the building, though the building is beautiful. It’s that people belong here.
I know that firsthand because I’m Catholic. All my life, strangers have asked me if I’m Jewish. I’m not — and it has never once mattered here. I have lunch at the J twice a week. On Fridays, we do Shabbat. The prayers are in Hebrew, and I just listen. Then, at the end, we all say amen together. I have never felt anyone look down on me for being Catholic. The opposite. They embrace you. They welcome you.
It doesn’t matter how old you are. It doesn’t matter what you believe, or even your politics. At the end of the day, all any of us want is to love each other, to be good and to be a good neighbor.
That is what I hope the Levine JCC carries into its next 40 years. Keep seeing these women. I have heard so many of them say that when you get older, you start to feel forgotten. The JCC does not let that happen, and I want that to continue. Keep everything you do for the children and teenagers. Keep the facilities for anyone who wants to exercise and stay healthy. Keep building programs for older members and providing the services they need. Every generation should have a place here.
If you asked me to describe the Levine JCC in one word, it would be belonging. I would tell anyone who would listen what a wonderful place this is to join. But more than anything, I would tell them what it has meant to me.
I came to Charlotte after leaving nearly 60 years of my life behind. I came here knowing almost no one. And at 81 years old, I found a new community, new friendships and a place where I am embraced for exactly who I am.
I have been fortunate, and I feel blessed. I feel like I have been reborn.
I’m enjoying life to the fullest.
