Marjorie Burnside, a lady in her 50s, shares with us her new business venture, and how she decided to Go for It! It’s often life changing experiences that make us think about our jobs and lives, and Marjorie is no exception.
I’m Marjorie and recently started as the East Lancashire Bralady. I have two daughters in their twenties and this is my story.
I have never been one for long term planning or any planning if I am truthful.
I worked in the NHS as a podiatrist for 34 years and although I enjoyed my job it was never a career that I had thought much about , I wanted to do something medical and due to my subjects was offered a place at Glasgow School of Chiropody so that was one important decision drifted into. After I got married to Richard in 1976 we went to live on the Isle of Wight, we had previously been on holiday and when I saw a job advertised I applied, got the job and then we moved there.
I live in Blackburn and yes, yet again, the same thing happened when we wanted to move nearer to relatives in Scotland. There was a job in Blackburn so we ended up here. It could have been anywhere in the north west but we were lucky as we are very settled and enjoy living in this area.
I did plan to have 2 children , Richard wanted 2 girls, we thought about 2 years between would be good and yes I do have 2 daughters one aged 29 and one aged 22 so two out of three ain’t bad !!
So you can guess me becoming a Bra Lady was not really part of any great plan. It was a life changing event which led me to become one.
In 2001 I had a mastectomy and I found it very difficult to get good fitting bras. I discussed with Richard that it would be great to work measuring and fitting bras for ladies in similar positions, he was very encouraging and supportive but it was not the right time.
Unfortunately Richard became ill in March last year so I took early retirement from the NHS in order to take care of him. We both hoped that he would be well enough to get out and about so we would enjoy our retirement together. Unfortunately Richard died in January of this year, which was a great shock to all the family, and this is one of the times when my daughters and their partners were invaluable.
I had no intention of going back to work as although some days were better than others I kept myself busy. One day I turned on the radio and caught the end of an interview with T-J about the BraLady network, and I knew that this was something that I would like to be involved in so I contacted her immediately and soon started my training.
Although this was another decision that was not planned I know that this is the right one as it was something Richard and I had discussed and it is also a challenge as it is so completely different to my previous occupation.
So after considering the above I think that the best decision that I have made recently was to turn on the radio that day!!!!
How have life changing events affected your decisions? We’d love for you to share your comments below.