About Me
Hi! Tēnā koe! I'm Stace .. and I pushed the 'reset' button in 2023!
BEGINNINGS
5/21/20232 min read
I have so much I am grateful for in my life. But I woke up one morning before Christmas 2022 and realised I was in a real rut.
My 7-year relationship had run its course. Both my boys were now grown and off on their own path. I was bored in my job, yet I continued to drive there every day in a car that was at the mechanics too often, to earn money to pay for a mortgage on a house that sat empty all day while I worked. I had spent so long raising my boys and giving so much of myself to my jobs and my life partners, that I had neglected my own physical and mental health. Menopause had been kicking my butt ever since I had a hysterectomy 2 years before. My weight had increased again, and I lacked energy and motivation. All normal life stuff really, but I was all of a sudden over it. A little change wasn't going to spark enough joy to make a difference.
Find yourself nodding along to any of this? well tune in for what I came up with... you just might be inspired...
But first, some numbers:
0 - Number of times I've TRULY put my own needs first
2 - Children raised to adulthood, with relative success
9867 - Approximate number of diets I've tried, without long-term success (until now)
51 - Trips around the sun so far..
So, this is what I decided to do...
All too often when the alarm goes off in the morning, we wish we didn't have to get up and go to work right? So many of us dream of the 'time freedom' that we don't get when we are tied to a 9 to 5 - trying to pay the mortgage and 'keep up with the Joneses', while making someone else wealthy, and often letting our health slide in the process.
So, what if I just turned off the alarm?
Newly single, with no kids or pets at home that needed me, I had nothing stopping me from packing it all in and getting on a plane. Oh, there are EXCUSES for sure... (I should keep working to pay off the mortgage, I need to save for my retirement, I shouldn't go on my own, it all sounds a bit radical, blah blah, blah) But did I have a valid REASON not to do it? The answer was 'no'
I lost my dad before his time, and I've lost friends and workmates WELL before theirs. The future is not promised for any of us, so why not grab life by the balls now - while I'm still young enough and fit enough to enjoy it?!
I sold my house, my car, all my furniture and belongings - aside from a few special things that I stored away - and whittled my life down to 23kg's of checked luggage, my hand luggage and my laptop. Look out world, here I come! I couldn't wait to meet some amazing people and have some epic experiences on the way.. If you've read this far - Welcome! Perhaps some of this is resonating with you? Maybe a little part of you wishes it was you? Or maybe you just think I'm crazy and want to follow along to see if it’s possible to leave everything behind and start again on your own after 50. Whatever the reason, you can expect a mish-mash of adventure stories, travel recommendations, and food pics. I've shared some personal stuff for perspective, my ongoing health journey and bits of what life look like now that I’ve settled ‘over the ditch’ (in Australia!)
