I am visiting family in Denver with time to write. The flight to Denver was uneventful. It was my first time since Covid and the Nashville airport seemed pretty normal except everyone had a mask on. The flight was the same. It was full and everyone had a mask on and I felt OK about it. While I have a purple suitcase because purple is my color, it used to be a unique color on the baggage claim belts. It appears that purple is now a popular color for suitcases. I almost got two that were not mine off of the belt.
Since July, I have had several times when I thought I was done with resting my brain and ready to use the professional skills that I accumulated over my career – only to realize within a short period of time that I simply was not ready.
I have had a wonderful opportunity to work with a colleague on a start-up for a product that I have interest in/passion for but I kept putting it off. It would only require a few hours a week but even that was too much for me to commit to for months. I was ready to make that commitment a few weeks ago and it has felt good to use my professional brain again.
Next week I am having 2 meetings with different individuals – one local to Nashville and one that would be a remote opportunity to explore other ways of using my skills in meaningful ways. One is an in-person lunch meeting. I have not worn business clothes – even business casual since Feb 2020. It will be interesting.
I continue to do “private” health advocacy for the personal joy it provides. I recognize that I could have a successful private health advocacy business and there is a need for this role, it has become clear that I have no appetite for the business aspects of such an endeavor. I would love to partner with someone who would develop a business that provides the infrastructure for other private health advocates as a joint business venture. I could pilot the process for others to join. Health care professionals rarely have business skills. I think there are other retiring health professionals from all backgrounds (social work, nursing, occupational therapy, medicine) that would be interesting in doing private health advocacy if there was a process to plug in to. A business that was inclusive of advocates from various professional backgrounds could create teams for clients that could better meet their complex needs.
It appears that figuring out what I do NOT want to do may be easier than what I DO want to do. I can live with that.
Tamara Unleashed 