Q: How old are you?
JW: I’m 70 years old. I love being this age – I’m so confident and comfortable.
Q: Top three mid-life tips I wish someone had told me?
JW:
- Never lose your sense of wonder.
- If you think you can’t, you can’t! Positivity has been my constant companion.
- Age is just a number – I feel so energised with possibility again.
Q: Three lifestyle habits to keep fit/healthy, & travel ready?
JW:
- Before a trip, taking Probiotics at least 6 weeks prior, & dose up on greens
- Get early nights for a few weeks pre-trip.
- I love my daily walks around the Brisbane river to keep fit.
Q: Favourite Destination?
JW: Without hesitation, India – over 24 trips and it remains a country of which I never tire. From Rajasthan Royal Palaces, to the streets of Mumbai, or the spicy Portuguese architecture influenced Cochin, to the Himalayas and the Ayurvedic treatments – each with a unique personality.
Q: Let’s begin at the best spot for a story to start, the beginning.
JW: In 2021 Francois and I celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. Covid closed down any hope of travels, and like most I felt like a caged lion, having to be content with one hour walks around, and around the block (I’d set up Glam Girls Lux Travels in 2013 – taking other women on adventures, many of whom without a partner to share experiences).
We used this unprecedented time to plan our next adventure – a relocation to Queensland, to be nearer to one of our daughters. Then life forced more change than I could ever envisage – Francois had a massive stroke. In just two devastating weeks my life spun from being the wife of a supportive, caring, involved, full of energy husband – to being a widower.
Q: What happened next – how did you manage to keep going?
JW: Even now, the anguish is still palpable. Days I couldn’t even think of what bread to buy, or what to do next, let alone think of my future without my rock. Now what, unpack and forget our Queensland dream?
I heard Francois telling me to “Just keep smiling doll”.
Unused to making momentous ‘life’ decisions without my constant love. Rudderless, still I just kept smiling.
Yet I do believe in moments of serendipity, the first unit I viewed immediately cocooning – a place I could find a connection back to myself. I won’t gloss over the days I felt too weary to lift my head – taking almost three years to regain my plumb line again.
Q: Any parting tips for anyone reading who might find themselves in a similar situation, having to cope with change in trajectory?
JW: Borrowing wise words from one of my favourite books ‘Around India on 80 trains’ – Monisha Rajesh, “Amid the calls of ‘chai chai….coffee, coffee, coffee’, passengers set the world to rights as they sleep above and below one another, touching elbows and knees — it’s impossible not to trespass on your fellow travellers’ personal space…
When one is on a transformative journey, you are always connected to others – fellow passengers. My family are proud of me. I’ve taken my ‘signature’ Panama Hat on many new adventures, Morocco, India, Tanzania, Zanzibar and long may that travel train track run smoothly – time can be fleeting, I am determined to experience as much as I can.
JEAN’S INSPIRATION
“Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you” – Rumi
PROFILE
Jean Wethmar, Co-Founder and Director of Glam Girls Lux Travels, is a colonial romantic!
Think Panama hats, silver hip flasks… stunning colonial architecture… and WOW moments.
When you join her tours, you’ll check into the right boutique five star hotels; eat at the right restaurants, and shop and see all the right places.
Her mantra is #relax, #recover, #renew, #refresh, #regroup,
Website: glamgirlsluxtravels.com
LinkedIn: jeanwethmar
Instagram: @glamgirlsluxtravels
