Connecting Seniors
Finding Jenny: From Doormat to Nurse at 40
Jenni Vercoe (R)
Jenni went back to school at 40 after her marriage ended, and spent 23 years rebuilding a self she thought she'd lost.
Kintsugi Studio
Connecting Seniors
Jenni Vercoe (R)
Jenni went back to school at 40 after her marriage ended, and spent 23 years rebuilding a self she thought she'd lost.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
Jenni always wanted to be a nurse, but she didn't think she was smart enough. After 14 years at home raising three boys, her marriage ended and she was 40, unemployed for 22 years, and convinced that door had closed forever. Then she saw an advertisement in the paper for an enrolled nursing course. She applied, got in, and was terrified. A friend pointed out that she had disappeared into the roles of wife and mother, with no identity of her own. Her youngest son called her a doormat and told her she was better than that. Those words cracked something open.
Jenni pushed through the enrolled nursing course, then the registered nursing degree while her father was dying. She kept climbing: a graduate certificate in anaesthetics and recovery, all while working full-time. After 23 years in nursing, she has not only built a career but found the strength and sense of self she thought she had lost. She works in operating theatres at a day surgery and now speaks to women stuck in disempowering relationships or afraid to start over. She tells them what she learned: you have the skills and street smarts you think you lack. Life experience counts for something real.
Jenni's final message is simple. Trust that inner voice inside you. Don't let someone steal your joy. Listen to that small flame, because it will become a roaring fire.
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