I'm Not Retiring, I'm Re-FIRING

A Manifesto For Women Who Refuse To Fade

Retirement? That suspiciously beige-tinted word isn't in my vocabulary. I'm not winding down, putting my feet up or disappearing into the background like a well-behaved woman in a retirement brochure.

I'm not picking up any knitting needles any time soon. For the record, I have nothing against knitting. I know it takes patience, precision and passion.

No .. what I’m doing is a bit different.

I'm re-FIRING!!

I’m currently armed with matches, a mission and post-menopausal power that could light up the National Grid.

I want to unpick the cultural myths that tell us we women have to have a sell-by date. That we have an expiry date.

But there’s a truth no one tells us. That post-menopause is not the beginning of the end.

It's the start of something else.

Something better.

The brain fog lifts, the energy shifts and the care-factor for pleasing others quietly exits stage left.

You start to hear your own voice again or maybe even for the first time and it's loud.

At nearly 62, I'm finally doing work that feels like it fits.

I have no plans to retire – quite the opposite.

For the last few years, I've been meticulously creating the work life I've always wanted, one where I call the shots, set the boundaries and choose how and when I work.

What I've built is what I fondly call my ‘Work-Life-Passions’ portfolio career – a blend I've carefully nurtured throughout this past decade of my midlife.

My work no longer sits in a separate compartment from what brings me joy; the boundaries have beautifully blurred. My expertise in sustainability communications flows directly from my commitment to a healthier planet. My digital wellbeing advocacy springs from my own journey of finding balance in a hyperconnected world. My work as a mentor and consultant allows me to share the wisdom earned through the decades of grafting.

Here in my little corner of the internet at Best Before End Date, my writing and musings are all about showing up fully and refusing to disappear politely.

I want to build a safe community where older women lead with fire in their bellies and not a hint of apology.

I've spent years unlearning the idea that a good woman is supposed to make herself even smaller as she gets older. That ageing means irrelevance. That we should be grateful for scraps of visibility, opportunity or influence.

Errr …No thanks.

I'm not shrinking. I'm growing.

This isn't a second or third act for me as some like to call it. This is a whole new stage that's bigger, brighter and one burning with purpose.

Re-FIRING means I get to take everything I've learned, all the wisdom gathered from grief, growth, mistakes, menopause, ADHD, living life to the full and joyful rebellion and use it all. Not stash it in a dusty drawer labelled 'past experience'.

It means I get to choose what this next chapter looks like for me and spoiler alert - it doesn't look like slowing down.

It looks like late-life pivoting. Like leveraging my 40+ years of solid hard work. Like guiding clients toward more mindful technology use while honouring their values and vision. Like creating spaces where midlife women can embrace their power rather than apologise for taking up space.

It looks like telling the truth. It looks like support circles for women who aren't done yet. It looks like smashing stereotypes in workplaces still run on outdated assumptions. It looks like showing up online with care for the planet and intention in how we spend our energy, digital and otherwise.

It looks like community, clarity, and yes sometimes a little chaos.

Because fire doesn't always burn things down. Sometimes it clears the way.

Your re-FIRING might look different from mine – perhaps it's writing that novel, becoming self employed for the first time, advocating for change, or simply living more authentically without apology.

The journey is yours to define, but the principle remains: refuse to shrink.

So no, I'm not re-tiring.

And if you're reading this and feeling that itch and want to scratch it like me then maybe it's your time, too.

The world doesn't need us to step back.

It needs us to step in.

Fully & Fiercely.

Who's with me?

Thanks as always for reading and let me know your thoughts