I'd spent my adult life building an exciting career that took me from a dream job as an advertising writer and creative director to the corporate trenches, where I worked for 24 years on brands that mattered and initiatives that moved the needle. I lived for impossible deadlines. I worshipped the pressure. And I genuinely loved the people I worked with. It was a rarity I didn't take for granted.
So I decided to retire on a high note – while I was happy. But unbeknownst to me, it was a month before COVID-19 lockdowns shut down my department and the rest of the country.
My timing couldn’t have been any better.
Yet, the isolation during those early months of the pandemic nearly broke me. I dropped out of retirement and shifted to consulting, securing varied projects, including working on the CDC's infectious disease team (yes, COVID) as a health communicator. But something was still missing. I needed a plan that went beyond just keeping busy.
I've always been passionate about cooking and eating well, so I dove headfirst into Cornell University's online nutrition certification program. The instructors were excellent and the material so intensive that I didn't stop at one certificate. I earned three.
That momentum took me back to Cornell for two more certificates, this time in writing, so I could refine my skills. The result? My first book is currently with my editor, and a second is underway. And then I thought about my travel plans, so I joined Duolingo to learn French and am still on it.
I wanted to add more depth to my reinvention, so I joined two boards: one for a major research hospital system and another dedicated to historic preservation. I've formed meaningful friendships with people who share my values while supporting causes that matter to me.
For fitness, I continued to work out with a trainer several days a week, play pickleball twice a week, and walk…a lot.
But the best part of my retirement failure? I connected with Tapestry to create and manage their content. I don’t consider this a job, but rather a community where I can keep expanding and exploring, and share this journey with people who actually want to hear about it.
I’m becoming a first-time grandmother to a little girl, due May 20. And I can’t wait!
In the 1990s, I began forming a friendship with a work colleague, Leslie Baer Dinkel. As our friendship grew, I could see that Leslie had a superpower — creating community. At first, I was drawn to the travel, the music (Leslie sings and plays guitar), and the prospect of exploring the unknown. I also saw an opportunity to use my position of relative privilege to help those in need.
On my first trip to the highlands of rural Guatemala, I learned how people live on a typical family income of $1,300 US a year. This awareness changed my motivations for getting involved. I contributed my financial, technological, and organizational expertise to help Leslie distinguish the tiny village of San Martin Chiquito from other Guatemalan communities.
Now, as I approach my 80s, I’m all in. I’m in for the fulfillment of working with people who lovingly share their talents, knowledge, energy, resources, and time across distances, languages, cultures, and many other factors that could separate us. I’m in for the sense of mutual respect within the group. And I’m in for the lifelong friends I have made at Local Hope/Xela AID - Partnerships for Self-Reliance.
