ABOUT ME
Kia ora everyone!!
Upon turning 60, I was aware that my age had crept up on me! Working 40hrs in an on-call position waking in the middle of the night to go and assess the risk of a young person, I wasn’t going to cope over the coming years? When a 40 hr position came up (I applied three times for before the job was mine!), I had started the transition - to reduce; hours, responsibilities, pressures and conserve energy. Then at 65 I still had another couple of years in me so applied to reduce down to 20 hrs and luckily my boss agreed.
Over that time I researched! I just didn’t know what I didn’t know! All the information I could find was about finances, funerals and rest homes! I was not ‘elderly’!
I felt a strong need to connect with people my age, to listen more intently to my older rellies and to gather information and an understanding about this unique stage of life. I found very little about; managing changes, identity crisis, our emotions, adjusting, handling challenges and making sense of yet another significant life transition.
After 18 months of research, interacting with local people and followers of Silver Tribe Facebook page, and using the professional skills at hand - a selection of services and resources have now been created to:
A. Raise topics of interest for discussion, inspiration, problem solving and learning - and
B. To help us increase our quality life and our lifestyle!
I am still a registered social worker currently in private practice as a professional supervisor having specialised over the years in community education and development and adolescent mental health. Although, in my earlier years as a young parent I did do my fair share of farm, factory work and commercial cleaning.
Family and community are important to me. I’m a mother, daughter, sister, auntie, grand-mother and great grandmother. I have a handful of close friends who I call my chosen family. I enjoy gardening, pot plants, crafts, clogging, playing cards, reading, music and visits to local cafes. Some of my philosophies is that life is about ‘loving and learning’ and if we’re not loving it, then we are likely learning something. I often am heard saying, “Onward and Upward”, and ‘the rest of our life is the best of our life’. What are your sayings, philosophies or whakatauki?
Ko Chris Hickson ahau.
I am your Host and a Silver Tribe member. Are you a member too?
Upon turning 60, I was aware that my age had crept up on me! Working 40hrs in an on-call position waking in the middle of the night to go and assess the risk of a young person, I wasn’t going to cope over the coming years? When a 40 hr position came up (I applied three times for before the job was mine!), I had started the transition - to reduce; hours, responsibilities, pressures and conserve energy. Then at 65 I still had another couple of years in me so applied to reduce down to 20 hrs and luckily my boss agreed.
Over that time I researched! I just didn’t know what I didn’t know! All the information I could find was about finances, funerals and rest homes! I was not ‘elderly’!
I felt a strong need to connect with people my age, to listen more intently to my older rellies and to gather information and an understanding about this unique stage of life. I found very little about; managing changes, identity crisis, our emotions, adjusting, handling challenges and making sense of yet another significant life transition.
After 18 months of research, interacting with local people and followers of Silver Tribe Facebook page, and using the professional skills at hand - a selection of services and resources have now been created to:
A. Raise topics of interest for discussion, inspiration, problem solving and learning - and
B. To help us increase our quality life and our lifestyle!
I am still a registered social worker currently in private practice as a professional supervisor having specialised over the years in community education and development and adolescent mental health. Although, in my earlier years as a young parent I did do my fair share of farm, factory work and commercial cleaning.
Family and community are important to me. I’m a mother, daughter, sister, auntie, grand-mother and great grandmother. I have a handful of close friends who I call my chosen family. I enjoy gardening, pot plants, crafts, clogging, playing cards, reading, music and visits to local cafes. Some of my philosophies is that life is about ‘loving and learning’ and if we’re not loving it, then we are likely learning something. I often am heard saying, “Onward and Upward”, and ‘the rest of our life is the best of our life’. What are your sayings, philosophies or whakatauki?
Ko Chris Hickson ahau.
I am your Host and a Silver Tribe member. Are you a member too?
