‘I need to find my new role in life’
KIM’S DILEMMA
I NEED TO REDISCOVER MY IDENTITY.IDE I’VE
BEEN HAPPY BRINGING UP MY FAMILY, BUT AM AT A CROSSROADS AND I’M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO NEXT. I LOST MY MOTHER LAST DECEMBER AFTER A LONG ILLNESS. MY FATHER, WHO IS 83, IS VERY INDEPENDENT, BUT I STILL WORRY ABOUT HIM. MY SONS ARE BOTH ENGAGED, AND HAVE FLOWN THE NEST. I STILL HAVE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN OUR BUSINESS, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS WHEN WE STARTED 30 YEARS AGO.
CAROLE ANN’S ADVICE
KIM HAS ALWAYS PUT HERSELF LAST. IT’S IMPORTANT TO GRIEVE, BUT
KIM NEEDS TO DETACH A LITTLE
FROM THE LOSS OF HER MOTHER. SHE NEEDS TO BE “RESPONSIBLY SELFISH”
AND START THINKING ABOUT HERSELF FIRST. MY BIG TIP TO ANYONE IS – DON’T THINK FINDING PURPOSE
HAS TO MEAN HUGE CHANGE.
YOUR NEW VENTURE CAN BE A
SMALL ONE BUT STILL BRING REWARD. THE MAIN THING IS TO BE OPENMINDED. YOU’LL SOON KNOW IF IT FEELS RIGHT.
KIM’S VERDICT AFTER SEEING CAROLE ANN I MET ONE OF MY SONS AND HE TEXTED ME LATER, “IT WAS LOVELY TO SEE YOU SO UPBEAT, MUM.” THAT WAS ENCOURAGING. I USED TO WORK IN FASHION AND LAST YEAR HELPED ORGANISE A FASHION SHOW FOR A BOUTIQUE. THEY HAVE SINCE CONTACTED ME AND ASKED IF I’D WORKED A COUPLE OF DAYS AS A PERSONAL STYLIST. CAROLE ANN HAS MADE ME SEE THAT SMALL STEPS CAN HELP ME MOVE FORWARD.