My name is Anne-Marie, I am 63 years old. I have been retired for 7 years and the desire to go away on my own came to me 4 years ago.
1. A first missed opportunity
I had been working as a nurse in a hospital during my entire career… When we had to choose our orientation during the 3rd year of the secondary school, I proudly declared that I would be a “cruise ship nurse”.
As I come from the Manche, I often went to Cherbourg with my parents to see ships reaching the port. The visit in the Queen Elizabeth I paid with a friend of my parents certainly contributed to my motivation to travel. It did not happen, but I could exercise my profession with passion... on land.
When I was 21, I had the opportunity to leave home in summer. A call for a job on a sailing ship in the port of Saint-Malo caught my attention. They were looking for someone to cook and take care of two children for a 3-month cruise. What a dream come true!
As I was a nurse, the young couple accepted my application without hesitation, though I never navigated. Once the agreement was concluded, I should have had left and realized the dream I had since I was 15, but I was late because of the traffic on the road in summer — I had to take back some things — and I missed the departure of the sailing ship. The tide does not wait!
2. Another life
How careless I had been! I would have left without informing my family, my work, my landlord, giving up on my new car in the car park. Though I didn’t make this dream come true, life pampered me with a husband and 2 amazing boys and nice dogs. I tried to live fully and with joy in my life.
My profession enabled me to exist, to feel useful and to find my place. Work is not always easy, but it is enriching for the human nature. All we do in life — the big as the little things, the encounters, a walk near home, a job — will take the proportions we are willing to give to it. It will depend on the heart’s spirit, on the willingness we will put into it…
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You don’t need to go on the other side of the world. It is wonderful to be able to make it. I did it, but right there, near home. I found myself thanks to my solo hikes.
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