Here we are again...
Crash, bang, wallop…
I’m sitting in A&E writing this at almost midnight… I may as well keep myself busy since I was prescient enough (this time, learned my lesson) to pack my laptop, charger, phone charger, water bottle, book and reading glasses…
Yes the ‘midlife collision’ strikes again. Mum had a fall and has a fractured pelvis…I’m 6 hours in and it’s going to be a long night…
In the x-ray queue I chatted to a frail, elderly lady here alone, her lips parched, she asked for lip balm and I scrabbled in my bag for some. We joked, gently, that it was red-tinted, and she’d look like she was out on the town, she confided that her lips had once been notable as her best feature. My heart broke a little more.
I’m desperate for my bed, but can’t leave mum alone here on the hot, bright, noisy ward with so many elderly patients calling out. She’d be just another confused elderly lady with dementia. Not someone’s mum.
A lovely nurse snuck me a basic cheese sandwich at around 10pm and I almost cried with gratitude. I really really really don’t like hospitals. I think the next few weeks are going to be hard…just in time for the school holidays. Oh…
The agony of midlife job-hunting
A few days ago author Stacey Duiguid posted a candid chat on Instagram (do the ‘kids’ about being ghosted after hundred of job applications and it’s fair to say the ‘gram went a little wild…
Many heartfelt DMs from midlife women later…she’s launched a petition, also now backed by Noon, that aims to raise awarenesss and spark some debate around ageism in recruitment processes. If you’d like to add your name, you can do so here.
Speaking of midlife careers, I was asked to contribute my thoughts on ‘midlife career coaching’ for this article which published earlier today in Hello! Second Act(talk about a day going from one extreme to the other…)
Have to say I am loving that Sara Cox is the new host of the BBC Radio 2 prime breakfast slot…she’s only two years younger than me and I’ve always been a fan. Go Coxy!
I’m going to close my laptop soon and dive back in to my book, the poignant and lovely ‘Thundery at Times: Loss, Hope, and an Unfinished Kayak Adventure’ by Katie Carr.
“Katie had never been in a sea kayak, but when her brother Toby died in the middle of his challenge to paddle in every area of the Shipping Forecast, she decided to honour his memory by completing his adventure. On a journey that takes her from the monotonies of motherhood in urban Barcelona to the far reaches of the Shipping Forecast through the wilds of the British Isles, Katie is forced to face her past and question her present, exploring the loss of her family members as well as her own identity. After two years of inelegant paddling and potentially worse parenting, can she complete the challenge?”
Isn’t the cover just glorious? It’s an age since I last kayaked at sea…hopefully this summer I can rectify that.
Later this year Katie will be on the podcast - speaking of, I’ll sign off by reminding you there’s a new(ish) episode out, wherein I interview Kelly Keating about her squiggly career, and what led her to launch the Wild and Wiser festival for midlife women this September. You can listen here, and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a code for 10% of weekend tickets - maybe see you there (sequin shorts optional!)?
Take care,
Emma x