Encouraging Words for Starting a New Chapter (From My Mom, Who is Starting her Early Retirement Right Now)
She had to choose between her job and financial security, and her mental health and the beautiful unknown of endless possibilities.
I call my mom “Princess” because she is one, in the most amazing way. You know how Anne Hathaway in the first Princess Diaries movie had no idea she was a princess, never acted like a “traditional” princess, but she was one nevertheless. That’s my mom.
She’s worked in healthcare for almost 20 years and made several wonderful friends along the way (one of them is Melissa from last week’s newsletter). They have not only watched my brother and me grow through the years, but also were active parts of my mom’s journey to become the woman she is today. In her past position, she worked for a health insurance company and was one of the first responders (not sure if that’s the right word but bear with me) when people in need would call for insurance related assistance. That means when angry and frustrated callers, people in need of life-saving procedures, people with incredibly sad, heart-wrenching stories of being tossed around by the American healthcare system, and so many more would call for help, my mom was probably one of the first people they spoke to. It was a VERY emotionally taxing job and once she realized that it was deteriorating her mental health more than before, she knew her time at that job was coming to a close. She’s decided that now, with my brother and me being financially independent and starting our own adult lives, she feels safe in letting go of the job to invest in living her own life as an empty nester.
I love this lady to the moon and back. She’s gone above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to motherhood and I couldn’t be prouder to say that this lady right here is my mom.
On this, the first day of the rest of her life, I wanted to share a conversation I had with her about what’s coming up next. She’s worked diligently and gracefully for most of her life so this new chapter is full of unknowns. We talked about how the focus of this next chapter is her learning to practice rest, what rest meant to her growing up in rural Jamaica and how she’s redefining it, her obsession with Robert Irvine (from Restaurant Impossible), and who her new best friends are (Joy, Wisdom, and Peace).
Here’s our conversation and I hope she inspires you as much as she inspires me :)