Hi everyone! Just back from entertaining three of my aunts whom I grew up with in Western PA as well as my Mom, my sister, and my cousin (daughter of one aunt in attendance), at my Florida condo. It’s a tiny little condo, mind you, yet we all made do, sleeping on the 3 beds, plus blow up mattresses and I chose to sleep on the chaise lounge on the deck, my favorite place! I had suggestions of tourist attractions, yet at the end of the day, they simply wanted to sit on the beach, eat out, and take in some wonderfully discounted shopping. (Ok, we also frequented Steak-n-Shake a lot, too!)
It all started the week before Easter, when I got a call from a long-time client–she’d been with me for over 20 years–saying that she was diagnosed with cancer. Wow…how shocking was that news? I felt sickened and began praying for her and her family immediately. The very next day, another of my over 20 yr clients called me to say she had been diagnosed with cancer! Successive days, I heard news of significant health challenges to two wonderful women, whom are more than clients, they are my friends, and moreover, I consider them family. I went to bed that night saddened, yet determined to help them in any way I could.
I got up the next day with what I called a “harebrained idea”. I would use my American Express points to fly my aunts down to Florida, and we would just kick up our heels and have fun for a long week-end. But would they come, I wondered? I mustered my courage and called my 88-yr old aunt, who has long been adventuresome, and she loved the idea. “I’ll pull my suitcase out and start packing!” she gushed. I was tickled pink! I then phoned each one of them, and gained their acceptance and went about planning our little family reunion vacation.
Here we are at the beach, just enjoying the ocean, and each day’s entertainment–various toddlers who would tempt the receding water levels and then scurry back up to dry sand when the next wave hit! It was downright hilarious to watch the varying levels of fear in these little kids. Yet, one-by-one, they all faced down their fears, and eventually, they all went into the water, with plenty of reserve at first, then almost scaring their parents with their apparent abandon.
I began to muse how we mature women face down our fears, in much the same way as these toddlers did; trust and verify. The kids needed to trust their parents that no real harm would come their way, and then they needed to cautiously step into the water, a toe at a time, to verify that “it was ok, after all”.
I am asking you mature women to trust the messages of your fee-only financial planners, and me, of course, in saying that it’s not too late to learn about our money. In fact, it’s a downright necessity, so why not come aboard on this learning journey with me. I’ll make it fun and empowering for you, just like our little Morrison Aunt reunion on the beach.
Another highlight was that my aunt Janet, 88-yrs young, was a Wave in the Navy as a young woman. I knew she loved the water, so I took her down to the water’s edge, steadied her as we got accustomed to the tide receding, taking the sand out from under our feet, and then I coached her onto a boogie-surf board I’d taken down, and she lay down on the board and hung onto both sides, and I guided her as she rode a couple waves. It was so exciting, and she had such a grin on her face. I’ll never forget it! Nor will she. We posed for everyone to take our picture, and I said, “once a wave, always a wave”!
I’m not able to offer you all a free wave ride, yet I am offering you a free call tomorrow evening, Tues, April 28th at 8pm Eastern Standard Time, to give more helpful information about discerning what’s noise and what’s important financial information these days, and what action we may need to take, and MUCH more. I’ll also be outlining what we’ll be offering on our upcoming 6-week teleseminar series, beginning on Tuesday, May 5th, also at 8pm EST. Commit to joining us, will you?
Terrific blog, Ms. Morrison! It occurs to me, as an elder myself, that your kindness to your older relatives bodes well for the way you interact with your financial clients. I am glad to be one of them. Best wishes.
Thanks Virginia. I LOVE my mature audience!