The days go faster and faster as you get older. We have fewer ah ha moments and memorable milestones that stop us in our tracks so everything becomes relative and each day slips by in a blur.
I put my head down, but up and work 5 days a week 8:30 to 5:00 and weekends are packed with cleaning, gardening and food shopping. The same cycle over and over. I watch as most of the people my age, that I know are retired or retiring, spending time with grand children or travelling the world. My evenings are basic, we make dinner and watch tv most of the time. But I’m getting ready to change it up and did a little bit of that earlier this week.
I spent an evening working on that memoir of mine that has been gestating for birth since I started it in 2021. I have written so much and now I just need to pull all of the chapters together and fill in the gaps. It’s a big job…so many words! The hardest part is digging up the memories…all of them, good and bad. I want to be authentic in my story telling so it all has to be out there.
The girls and I had a dinner, wine and karaoke night in front of the fire here at the house and that was some of the most fun I’ve had in a very long time. Paul snuggled in on the couch and happily listened.
I plan to be more intentional with my time, joining activities and gathering a support group outside my core family. It’s important, socialising keeps us young and we tend to lose that as we age. Having more time doing new things will open more opportunities for those moments that slow time down. I love people and I’ve always been a transient person so I have not had the luxury of building friendships or hanging with groups on a lasting basis and I am determined to have that at my fingertips before I die.
I need more…I talk to friends and family 8,600 miles away and have the occasional chat with a local friend in my driveway home from work and have been so fortunate to have a couple of lunches with a new friend that I absolutely adore and click with and I look forward to more of those.
Most of the team I work with are young enough to be my children and I love them to pieces but hanging out with them is not an option…they already have parents (lol).
I plan to join the gym. Not to get skinny but to be fed emotionally and physically. To feel the energy of healthy people around me and to socialise. We will see how I progress over the rest of 2026 So watch this space.
I have had a wonderfully colorful life, rich with varied experiences. My ability as a singer and career as an administrative assistant/marketing communications manager; have presented me with a wide range of opportunities. I have been fortunate to work with and learn from some accomplished and intelligent business owners, executives and artists. I have explored the world, markets and non-profits I would have never dreamed of exploring.
I started out performing in community theater then professionally in night clubs and working as a studio vocalist at the age of 12 in Naples Florida, my home town. My vocal studies began at the age of 8 with my mother who gave me my first vocal lessons. I have had the opportunity to learn with some talented vocal coaches since those lessons with my mother. With them I developed the ability to sing Classical, Jazz and Pop; which allowed me to make a living in the music industry for over 30 years, in America, Europe and NZ. I became proficient in handling the business end of performing and teaching and developed administrative skills that would be used more prominently later on in my life, which I cover further down in this piece. I managed all my own performance bookings and began promoting myself as an up and coming singer, beating the pavement in Nashville TN and learned how to sell my talents in a place where everyone and their mother can sing. Performing in front of large audiences has forced me to be more than skilled at holding my own.
I have also been a studio singer and voice over artist, taught choir and private lessons and was the president of a local non-profit music school in NZ for 3 years.
Once my husband and I began a family, my career focus shifted more to assisting others in their businesses, along with marketing and often selling their products. I took on the roles of Sales, Marketing Communications and Administrative Assistant full time. Environments where I have worked in these capacities have varied. The most joy I find in my career is having the ability to tap into my creative side where I have been encouraged to indulge in my love for creative and copy writing, both personally and for professionally. I worked in our own residential and commercial playground company and for a Website development/social media management company and cherished watching the birth of our new products become known to the public and seeing our client base grow. I have developed the skill for marketing and promoting products and services through the written word, but I am also a strong and persuasive sales person face to face.
We moved from NZ where we had been for 12 yrs, back to Naples Florida in 2015. I took the position as the Administrative Assistant to the Pastor, at the church I grew up in. In my position there I used every skilled I had acquired over my lifetime, from administrative to performing as a vocalist/worship leader. I am a passionate employee and business woman and find it easy to fully immerse myself in my work while still finding joy in the day to day, what I do and the people in my life.
My passions are still singing, promoting, creative writing, encouraging others to pursue their dreams while achieve their goals and being outdoors. I love my hometown of Naples and take advantage of all the beauty and outdoor opportunities it has to offer on a regular basis. Being an active person I work best when on the move and busy, socializing and intellectually stimulated. I also thrive in a situation where I have the opportunity to continue learning new skills. I work on being the best version of myself and strive to give it my best shot every day.
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Jeri's Brain Dump 