Reinvent yourself!
Lean into discomfort…you are never too old to reinvent yourself!
After 75 years of living a selflessly devoted, emotionally draining, and yet exhilarating role of being a grandmother, mother, and daughter, one woman set out to lean into discomfort and tackle a new way of communicating with her family, friends, and daughters daily. You know, the comfort zones we all have, both professionally and personally.
Raised in the era of talking over the fence with neighbors and friends was an everyday occurrence. For the few that lived farther away, snail mail was the most cost-effective form of communication. A postage stamp cost $0.03, and a long-distance phone call was a luxury that was saved only for the direst of emergencies.
While raising her family, juggling multiple responsibilities of work, spouse, parents, all vying for time and attention, she was no different than any parent during the first 25 years of marriage. The world moved from party lines to princess telephones to car phones to smartphones.
Also, during this time, the world suddenly got smaller. The close loved ones were no longer just a quick walk out to the backyard or down the block for conversations and friendship but were now spread around the country with hundreds of miles and often multiple time zones away.
As John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” This poignant and relevant statement was true "back in the day" as well as in today's fast-paced world and will be playing forward for generations to come. Numerous famous quotes remind us of time passing. Albert Einstein said, “Time flies when you are having fun,” or Ben Franklin, “Lost time is never found again.” The quotes have the same theme over the days, decades, and centuries, from famous, infamous, or just average people, time is over in the blink of an eye. As we all move through time, each of us is reinventing ourselves, and sometimes we are doing it with conscious thought, sometimes not. As this solitary woman decided, today they were going to be with conscious thought.
She was at a pinnacle point in her reinvention. Yes, she has been reinventing herself countless times as the situations arose. Naturally, losing a loved one, parent, or spouse, the change before your eyes of children becoming young adults and parents themselves were the natural changes that occur, but as Robert Orben said, “Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator.” So, she took the pen to paper and decided to be her own navigator. The decision to create this particular legacy did not come easily but was something that she thought about privately for months. Her thoughts consumed her. She constantly asked herself why she was going down this path, what would be its purpose, and of course, what could carry forward as the world continued to change. The most dramatic and life-altering re-invention of her life had to do with three simple yet powerful little words. She determined that these three words would represent her brand, her thoughts, and her legacy.
As time elapsed, she decided to test the waters and see what others thought of her plan. She did an informal survey of those closest to her on their thoughts about her vision and chosen words. She listened carefully to their feedback. And, with the grace and pose she always possessed, thanked them for the upside and downside of its usage. She ultimately decided to use her words.
When she first used the words, it brought surprise and questions from those she used it. They didn’t feel that she needed to do this but, true to her belief that this was what she wanted to use, nothing could stand in her way. She ultimately turned doubters into missionaries of her vision and words. Her heartfelt and passionate three words she used the remaining years of her life. In closing her emails, letters, and texts to all her daughters, family, and friends at the end of every day, those words were present.
My mom, the 75-year-old in this story, is our kid's Grandmother. She is no longer with us, but memories of her and her one heartfelt choice are never too far from my heart. Probably one of the best gifts we were ever given was her three words. To honor her and keep her memory alive, we carried it forward to every text, to/from every sister, every evening. Of course, Grandmother always spelled it out, Love, Hugs & Blessings. The sisters have shortened it to LHB. You will also notice it is on Jack, our teddy bear's foot, in our collaborative book, The Marshmallow Mystery. A story that keeps Grandfather's stories alive. A story that keeps Grandfather’s stories alive…but that’s another blog.
You are never too old to reinvent yourself!
What three words are you leaving behind?
