We’re used to the idea of spring cleaning your house, but did you know that the idea can fit perfectly for other elements of your life? Do you know that feeling when things start piling up and, suddenly, your once-clear path feels like it’s disappeared under a landslide of to-dos? I was right there a few weeks ago. Then, like a lifeline, a few prompts from the Second 50 community nudged me to pause, breathe, and make some shifts to get back on track.

At age 60, Grace* had a good job, a circle of friends and, despite some financial stresses, enjoyed a life full of books, art and her favourite footy team. Fast forward three years to 2022 and her life was very different. An exciting and well-paid new job turned out to be a nightmare of toxic micro-management and she had relocated to another state to take on the complex (and often thankless) role of caring for her ailing mother.

Might you indulge me for a moment? My thoughts are about the approach we’re taking to creating community within Second 50. But first, please join me for a dip in the sea…Most Sundays, I do an early morning ocean swim with a small group of wonderful women. Last Sunday was a perfect day with calm surf and no stingers. We were lucky enough to watch a turtle glide gracefully by, look down on sleeping wobbegongs, and visit the local giant cuttlefish. Even when the water is rough and rain threatens, I love this weekly dose of exercise, the ocean and what we often find inside it. But the immense benefits from my weekly swim would not happen if I swam alone.

How is 2024 going for you so far? Do you feel like you’re embracing or facing another year?   Last week at the beach, I made some time and headspace to reflect on the past year and contemplate 2024. It’s been several years since I was brave enough to do that and I wondered how many other Second 50 women do annual reflections or make resolutions. 

When I was 30, the age of 50 felt a long way off. Like somewhere on the other side of my life. When I was 40, I was too busy juggling family and work to think a decade ahead, but I recall that being over 50 was a time when people worked before retirement, then before moving into old age and death. Until suddenly, I was 49. Not only did I have three children still firmly at home, but I had experienced a traumatic career disruption and it was dawning on me that I was now firmly in mid-life, potentially with many decades of life and work ahead.

For the first time in my life, at the age of 65, I had no idea what I was going to do next. For a few years prior, I had looked forward to being able to slow down and enjoy life. That day would come when I exited the business I had set up with my son, and sold, in 2020. The problem was, I had no transition plan. I suddenly found myself anchorless and in a sea of confusion, about to be unemployed.