Excelsior Springs, Mo. – What do you get when you combine friendship, Zumba, a sense of humor, and matching T-shirts? In Excelsior Springs, you get the “Recycled Teenagers,” a spirited group of women who’ve formed their own social club after connecting through local exercise classes.
What started as a few friends heading to lunch after class quickly grew into a full-fledged community of women who share not only cardio routines but laughter, support, and adventures.
“It really began with someone saying, ‘Let’s go to lunch,’ and then it just grew from there,” said Tamie Wilhelmi, the group’s unofficial ringleader. “Then someone found a funny picture online that said ‘Recycled Teenagers’ and it stuck. We got shirts made, and it became a thing.”
Each member has a different path that led them to the group, but they all agree that having a close-knit circle of friends as adults is something special.
“Women need women friends,” said one of the members. “We bond. We travel. We’ve been to New Orleans together. Some of us are going to Greece. We’ve got little subgroups too. And no matter what, we show up for each other.”
Though they’ve only formally been “the Recycled Teenagers” for about six months, their connections go back years. Some of the women have been playing cards together for nearly a decade, while others met through various community classes, such as water aerobics, strength training, or drumming, at the Excelsior Springs Community Center.
Their group text thread is the hub of activity, organized by Wilhelmi. Whether it’s planning a group lunch, scheduling bingo night at the Senior Center, or figuring out who’s bringing the chips, the women keep things lively and inclusive.
For the Recycled Teenagers, it’s less about what they do and more about who they do it with. Some are widows, others are caregivers, some are retired, and many are still involved in other groups, such as Red Hat societies, church widows’ groups, and sororities. But here, they’ve created something new, something uniquely theirs.
“I think the key is support,” one member shared. “If one of us has surgery, the rest are there. If someone needs a ride, we figure it out. It’s about showing up.”
Many of the group members participated in the Good Samaritan Center’s “Walk for Mercy,” and even more marched in the Waterfest parade along with their Zumba classmates. They’ve even begun discussing the possibility of doing some community service projects. But for now, their main mission is simple: enjoy life and each other.
They might call themselves “recycled,” but these women are full of new life, laughter, and love—for each other, for Excelsior Springs, and for whatever adventure comes next.
Want to Start a Group Like This?
Their advice is simple: reach out. Invite someone to lunch. Say yes more often. The friendships that follow might just change your life.
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