I’m always surprised when I see how long ago I last posted a blog, because I think about blogging all the time. I journal every single day, but it’s different from blogging. A lot more personal.
Wow – SO much has changed since I last wrote!
I left my job at the end of August, taking a voluntary
severance package, without lining up a new job. At the time, I’d taken on some
part-time online marking, which was a first for me. It proved to be a very
interesting and enlightening experience. I was lucky enough to be kept busy
with marking right until this week. I am grateful for the income.
Looking at today’s date, I can’t believe it’s already been
two full months that I’ve been at home.
The entire experience has been completely different to any
other time of my life. Firstly, Old Trudy would never have left a job without
having secured another. Had she done so, Old Trudy would have been super
stressed, accepting the first offer that came her way, out of fear of not
getting any others.
As it turns out, I am New Trudy, who does life differently. It
was less of a plan than an evolution. Everything in my life up to now has
moulded me and brought me to where I am, today. It sounds so obvious, but it’s
extremely profound. In my case, it comes with an immense sense of acceptance of
who I am, and peace – so much more peace than I thought possible, given the
adversity I’ve dealt with, right up to this year.
Anyway… back to the job front. After extensive chats with
someone I knew and trusted, I was offered an opportunity to co-write a funding proposal.
Phase 1 was accepted, so I am currently engaged in research – also a new area for
me, but absolutely fascinating. Beyond the research process, there might be
another role for me. Time will tell.
So this is the New Trudy. Having turned 60 two months ago, I
can’t help thinking about what it means to the world out there. To me, it’s an
exciting and wonderful time of my life. Firstly, within the context of the
Covid-19 pandemic, I am grateful to be alive, but even more so to be in good
health, both physically and mentally. Having a mom afflicted with Alzheimer’s,
I appreciate every day of my life that I wake up with all my mental faculties
intact. Or, as my mother would say, having all your “varkies” (piglets). š
In terms of job prospects, I feel I have so much to offer
and that the right situation for me will turn up. Old Trudy would have focussed
on what she lacked, or the negatives about being 60.
I’ve managed to keep up my fitness regimen, and have
recently started making healthier food choices, with a view to losing weight. I
set a weekly goal to do three workouts and sometimes other arrangements get in
the way, which frustrates me. Later today I’ll do a one-hour fitness class,
which will bring my weekly total to three. On Sunday, I’m doing my first ever
Sleekgeek event, a 5km walk. I can’t wait. It will be about 100 people, walking
as part of a health and fitness movement, right next to the sea! I’m so
excited! I joined this group in late 2017, I think, and have never been to any
of their events. I’ve put the word out in our fitness group, so others in our
group are also walking on Sunday.
I would love to build up my running, to do a 5km run
sometime. I was hoping I could achieve it by the end of this year, but I think
the end of January might be more realistic. There are 9 and 12 week programmes
I’ve seen, which allegedly get you “from couch to 5km”. I’ll see. There are
some things for which I set deadlines and others that I allow to flow more
organically. I love the unhurriedness of most things in my life, now.
On the music front, I was delighted to have been offered a duo gig at a hotel. It’s in two weeks’ time, and I’ve been practising. This will be my first live gig since March 2020, before lockdown. It’s in a beautiful venue, overlooking the sea, and I’ll be playing with one of my favourite musicians, Rudy Burns. I cannot wait!!!
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