243 Mary Goes on Spring Break
In recent episodes, I’ve been dropping some obvious and not-so-obvious hints that I’ve been itching to shake things up in the 57-year-old version of me.. Like so many of you, I’m not completely certain which way I want to shake, but shake things up I must or I am going to lose my mind.
So, I’ll cut to the chase:
I am taking a three-month break, a spring break, from producing the Experience 50 Podcast for Midlife. The podcast returns on June 25th.
It’s really no wonder. After six years of featuring hundreds of midlifers telling their stories of audacious career changes, exciting entrepreneurial endeavors, bold experiences planting the seeds for tremendous personal growth and transformation well, it should come as no surprise that I would be inspired, right along with you, my listeners.
I’ve also mentored, advised, encouraged, and cajoled mentoring clients to shed the weight of their labels, the must-dos and should dos, to get out their own way and live a little. Shake things up. Do the unexpected. Find out what you’re made of, see who they just might be under the armor of their comfortable existence.
At 57, I have personally navigated my way through most of the milestones that you will experience in this stage of life. I have learned and shared my own advice as well as the gems of wisdom that my guests brought forth.
In my early 50s, I made a huge leap- away from the comfort of my executive chair in a respected leadership position in my region’s business community to enter the world of independent podcasting and freelance writing, My husband and I have cared for aging parents who have now passed, watched our children grow into a couple of very cool independent adults and we have found our way into new relationships with each of them.
Also, my husband and I have successfully redefined what our 24-year marriage can look like when co-parenting is no longer the focus of our conversations and our relationship.
Together with this amazing man, we have grieved the loss of loved ones, supported each other through my health scare with cancer, grown into people we never expected to be, and like you, as individuals and as a couple learned how to live through a pandemic.
I absolutely believe that our 50s offer us the greatest challenges in learning who we are when the labels become fewer, less obvious, and significantly less important. I believe the finish line of your Experience 50 experience is that you become the person you’ve chosen to be.
The person that I have chosen to be is:
A woman who is nowhere done living my life story. There are, I hope at the very least, a couple of big chapters ahead which will define my life.
This brings me to my decision, that I need 3 months of undistracted headspace to take the first few steps in writing the next chapter, exploring my options for the sake of exploring. I can’t really see the destination, but I do know how to lay the groundwork for being able to jump into what’s next.
To that end, my husband and I have decided we must be nimble. We use that word a lot lately.
So we are walking the walk not just talking the talk.
This week we closed on the sale of our house. I now have 30 days to downsize our possessions to a fraction of what we currently own. Then establish a new minimalist home in a rented house about a mile from where we live now. As of today, we are mortgage-free, completely debt-free, child-free, and in short order, we will be free of literal generations of things and stuff, only keeping what we absolutely need. We are learning Spanish and over time making increasingly longer trips, traveling outside of the country to see if, perhaps, an expatriate life suits us and where that might be. Mexico? Ecuador? Thailand? Don’t know, need to take a look.
The show will be back on June 25th, and that’s not much time
But it gives me just enough time to manage the mundane chores of moving, unloading possessions, improving my Spanish, and spending some time exploring Ecuador first and perhaps Mexico, Costa Rica, well, several by the end of the year.
While the podcast is on hiatus, I will be taking a break from my various social media platforms and even Experience 50 email – effective April 1st through the end of June. The only place I will remain in touch, providing updates, and responding to messages is my Patreon page. I am eliminating the higher levels of membership because I will no longer be offering the accompanying benefits. Members donating $2 each month will have access to limited updates, with more detailed videos and posts remaining exclusive to $5 Friends of Mary.
I can’t wait to see what I have to share with you on June 25th!
I encourage you to take a spring break from whatever you can, big or small, stop doing things you don’t want to do or have to do and focus your attention on your own next chapter.
To follow me on my adventure on Patreon, visit patreon.com/maryrogers
You’ve got this.
Hasta luego (see you later) !
