Come on a short journey into the past with me:  Imagine sitting in meditation, calm, relaxed, listening; it was about five in the morning, my quiet time.  It was also about two years after leaving my marriage, and I was working on discovering Me.  At this point, I was 55 years old.

Sounds silly and unbelievable that, at 55 years of age, I didn’t know that.

So, there I was sitting in meditation. I’ve always said prayer is when I talk with God. Meditation is when God talks with me.

“I had always wanted to impress my Grandmother”, my guest told me.  “And, I am excited to be 60…I’ll be a criminal and I’ll get away with it because I’m old and cute!”

When I was 53 and newly divorce, I was prone to get up out of bed at 2 a.m., get dressed, grab my car keys and drive to the nearest 24-hour store (4 miles away) to get a donut!  

Once, I received a huge box of Ghirardelli chocolates as a holiday gift from a co-worker.  I immediately decided to re-gift the beautifully Christmas decorated box of blood-sugar-skyrocketing lusciousness.  Instead, I ended up opening the box and eating a few. Realizing I was on a roll, I locked the box of chocolates inside my car and locked the door to the garage, to keep from eating more of the melt in your mouth, stress-reducing, goodness.

A neighbor used to bake 36 beautiful, soft and delicious chocolate chip cookies (3 dozen!) and only eat one!  She had no inclination to eat more than one…she gave the rest to a neighbor family’s six kids.  Me?  At times, I’d have eaten all 36 cookies before you could say “neighbor family’s six kids”!”

I don’t always lack willpower. I’m not overweight. My personality and self-control are not always that of a grizzly bear.  Just sometimes.

Learn more about the Cool Retired Women’s Club at www.CoolRetiredWomen’sClub.com   Join our private Facebook group at www.Facebook.com/CoolRetiredWomen 

Often, because we are retired, we think we’ve exhausted our usefulness.  We think we’ve provided all we can, that we have nothing more of importance to offer.

Wrong!

In this episode, Mickie discusses using her new-found passion and love for coaching and creating community…new found since her sixtieth birthday!

Going to coaching school and becoming a life-success coach, creating podcasts, writing a book and self-publishing: these are things she didn’t know she could do and discovered she loves!

Steve Jobs said the only way to do great work is to do what you love to do.  This podcast episode encourages you to do just that!  You are a Cool Retired Woman…release your passion and let your Light shine!!

Check out our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/CoolRetiredWomen

Thanks!

Prior to retirement, my guest was a school teacher and counselor.  When near retirement age, her father passed away and her mother was diagnosed with cancer.  

With her husband’s support, her decision was to retire, at age 48, to spend time with and support her mother.  She said “I knew where I didn’t want to be anymore.”  The decision was made.  It seemed like a good one.

Suddenly, though, her Life was spiraling. She was no longer a teacher, a role she loved, and with the loss of her mother she became an orphan.  Her previously solid foundation crumbled … her reality was foggy and the future unclear.

Jan Janke shares with us how she maneuvered the murky reality of her early retirement years.  She opened her mind and heart to embrace new friends and experiences she had never before considered.

She embraced life as a Cool Retired Woman!  Jan is now a public speaker, successful life coach, and hosts a faith based weekly 15 minute telephone group.

Learn more about Jan Janke on her Facebook page Splashes of Spirit.  Join her upbeat and inspiring Monday morning Splash Call at 7:30 Eastern time by dialing 605-475-3215, access code 726853   Call in a few minutes before 7:30, announce yourself and then just listen…Jan begins with a prayer followed by an inspiring message.  A solid way to begin each week! 

We’ve all laughed at jokes about old ladies walking along, completely misunderstanding each other, carrying on what seems from the outside to be a disconnected, yet ludicrously funny, conversation.  In cartoons, the ladies are wearing big hats (probably red), baggy stockings, and mismatched clothes, right?