I partner with you to build a happy, healthy life.
Hello and welcome Dear Friend,
Retiring in midlife is a breath of fresh air to have the freedom to do anything we want, at any time! I’m enthusiastic about this stage of life and all the opportunities that it brings for us as individuals and for our communities. After building all those skills and life experiences, we have more potential than ever before in our lives!
When I retired from a long career in teaching, I told myself that I needed to rest. I took a Gap Year to just enjoy not working, and to recover from the grind. I started blogging about my experiences of being retired as a way to understand what was happening in my life to my relationships, my purpose/identity, and my mental and physical health.
When I was ready, I looked for non-financial planning for retirement and I couldn’t find anything. There were lots of people who wanted to help me save for retirement and organise my money, but I couldn’t find people who could help with everything else! I knew that I wanted a new purpose. I had lots of ideas but I didn’t know which direction to go, and I didn’t want to waste time choosing the wrong path for me. Who has that kind of time any more?
That’s when I bumped into the idea of contacting a life coach. I still can’t remember how I came to that conclusion because I’d never heard of life coaching before. I knew that I didn’t need the healing of a therapist. I wanted to move forward. Coaching seemed like the logical choice. I contacted a delightful ICF coach from Saskatchewan because I liked what her website said, and she looked very approachable.
I remember how much my heart was pounding when I prepared to open the Zoom on our first meeting. I was nervous and excited and eager. It turned out to be the best decision that I’ve made for my retirement. Working with my coach, I was able to identify my strengths, values and abilities, and then whittle down my huge list of ideas to something I feel very passionate about that matches my values to a tee.
Finding that joy is something I dearly want to help others find too. There are so many resources aimed at supporting people in the workplace, and to help them be more productive, but not many aimed at partnering with you to build a happy, healthy life once you retire. That’s how Retire, And Now What? was born.
*Please note: my coaching does not involve any aspects of financial planning for retirement.
Finishing my teaching career during the first three years of a pandemic was an exhausting mix of over-whelm, compassion, constant pivoting and joy.
I have my life coaching qualifications from Rhodes College, an ICF accredited programme. As a member, I abide by The International Coaching Federation’s ethics and standards. I am also a long-standing member of The Ontario College of Teachers. You can look me up in the directories.
Retired, And Now What? 