An Adventurous and Creative Heart

It is over three months now since Mum, Ami, died, and as we plan our Christmas it will be very different without her there.  Previously I would have hosted her at my place on Christmas Day.  I could not leave her in her aged care residence (aka, her prison) on Christmas day.  We might not do anything too special, but a least she could get out for the day.

This year, I will go to my younger brother Darryl and his partner Kay’s for lunch, then come home to a Christmas dinner with my housemate Chrissie.  She has no immediate family to spend the day with either.

I had wondered before Mum died how I would be after her passing, whether I would be inconsolable with grief after the loss of such a significant relationship.  I have found that for me this has not been the case.  After the road trip I went on to scatter her ashes, and the celebration we had for her at Gondwana I have been happy to get on with my life.

The picture I drew of her, called Last Request, has been hung in a local council sponsored Art Exhibition with the theme New Beginnings.  To link with this theme I wrote: Continue reading “An Adventurous and Creative Heart”

Submission to “Willing to Work: National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians”

I submitted the following, via the group Seniorpreneurs to this inquiry. (they asked for 300 words only)

Having 20 years of experience as a change manager in corporate and government jobs has not been enough to get me a job in this field, or any other field since I was retrenched in September 2014.  At 61 years old, after unsuccessfully going for permanent, contract and temporary jobs in my field, I tried to utilise my extensive skill set and previous career experiences to step sideways and downwards into other jobs that I know I could easily do.  I even tried to get temporary office work. Continue reading “Submission to “Willing to Work: National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians””

First Speaking Gig

I am proud of myself.  Today I had my first public speaking event with Grimshaw Probus Club in Melbourne’s North Eastern Suburbs.  One of many I hope.

Jan Marshall Speaker
Jan Marshall Speaker

I spoke on The Dangers of Love in the Online world: My experience of an online romance scam.  It was very well received, and I think many people now have a different take on what happens in a scam.

Here is a quotable quote from me, based on Brene Brown’s concept of ‘daring greatly’, which she takes from Theodore Roosevelt.

In being open to love, and going on to an online dating site I “dared greatly”.  Like the person on the field who looses, I lost.   I played the wrong game, or played the game wrongly.  But at least I was playing.  And I need to not take it personally and keep playing.

Have a look at my speaker profile – Jan Marshall Speaker Profile