Why Heels and Tevas
Lynnelle’s Story-
I’m Lynnelle and I grew up in Irving, TX – just west of Dallas and since 1979 I’ve bounced between Texas, New York, New Hampshire and Maine – more than a few times over the last 4 decades.
Between 1979 and 2010 there were marriages and divorces and boyfriends, financial successes and catastrophes and, above all, wild adventures. What I didn’t experience – was monotony.
In 2003 I moved to Portland, Maine where, in 2007, I met Barb and her SO, EW. Another woman, Rhoda Mitchell, came into my life around the same time and the three of us bonded. We were all self-employed and all lived relatively unconventional lives – Barb and EW lived on a boat – year-round – in Maine – even in the winter. Rhoda was a career counselor with a special interest in New Age spirituality. Then there was me, a 50-something, self-employed, childless, divorced woman. We all had audacious dreams. Barb dreamed about sailing away from Maine with EW to distant ports south and beyond. Rhoda dreamed of leaving Maine to live more in tune with her New Age beliefs. I dreamed about living in France – at least part-time.
Going Home
In 2010, everything was, again, pointing me to Dallas: Barb put her audacious dream into action when she sailed away from Maine with EW. Rhoda moved to Sante Fe to immerse herself in the energy and spirituality of the area. I had been away from “home” for over 12 years. My Dad’s health was failing. It was time for me to leave Maine, too. So I did. I moved home in January of 2011.
I lost my Dad in 2013. Mom moved into an assisted living facility in the Austin area in 2014. Fast forward to 2017, after a full 6 years back in the “real world”, resurrecting my career in the financial world, an over-abundance of stress and lack of joy began to out-weigh the great salary and prestige.
The only thing holding me to Dallas was Kurt, the best thing to come out of the previous 6 years. Bless Kurt. He was willing to move. So, with no family or joy keeping me in Dallas and the pull of family in Austin – Austin won. In late March of 2017 Kurt and I packed up and moved, not exactly to Austin – but to the little country town of Elgin. As Barb says, “Elgin isn’t a town packed with folks who know a Gabrielle Chanel bag from a bean bag.” And, she’s right. Elgin’s not much of a “city”. But hey, the ribs are great, and we bloom where we’re planted. Right?
The Big 6-0
In May, two months after moving down to Elgin, I turned 60. Being the good, thoughtful partner, he is, Kurt knew that spending my birthday evening with the important people in my life would be the perfect 60th celebration. It was a FABULOUS evening spent with fabulous people – including Barb.
I’m very grateful Barb was able to be there. It was during this visit we were able to spend a few days together commiserating our mutual status of “senior”, lamenting the stereotype of a senior woman in her 60s and how that stereotype was so far from how we felt and who we were. In our society, women over 60 are regarded differently, whether professionally, physically, mentally, financially, or sexually – strictly because of their age.
That’s just BS.
It was during this visit Heels and Tevas was born.
Since August 2017, I’ve been cultivating, with Barb, Heels and Tevas. My purpose for Heels and Tevas is, and continues to be a safe place for fun, vibrant women over 60 to find information, share experiences and enjoy interactions with like-minded women.
I hope Heels and Tevas continue to grow and be a support and a haven for women over 60 who, even though classified as “seniors”, continue to pursue audacious goals.
My audacious dream continues to be living in France, at least part-time. In October of 2018, I put this dream into motion by signing a purchase agreement on my French apartment, which enabled me to spend the summer of 2019 in France and I already have 3 more trips tentatively planned between late 2019 through 2020.
It’s time for another audacious dream! Join me! Sign up form to the right! –>