Listening to the draft submissions of some of our other members, I found that all of the stories shared resonated with me. In the last 4 years, I have experienced retirement, the death of my mother and the death of a brother-in-law who was the same age as I am. My husband and I acted as caregiver and companion to his brother during his almost 2 year cancer journey that ended with his death in July. All of these events have changed the way I look at life and made me more determined to live an authentic life.
I retired at the age of 56 because I was financially able to do so and I felt like my work as a behavioral health nurse was not serving my patients or myself well anymore. I had a lot of moral distress about many aspects of my job and did not look forward to going to work. I definitely did not feel like I could be my authentic self on the job. Four years later I have no regrets and feel privileged to have the time to be a support person to family and friends who have to navigate our unnecessarily complicated health care system. I also am conscious of the need for self care and do not feel guilty in the least that I have the time for rest, recreation and fun. Life is good and spending time with all the wonderful women of UUWC is priceless. Thank you all for your friendship and love.
Karen Kortsch
August, 2023