Fran Dummett, positive spirit for inner growth

FranMa and Leila

I am a life-long learner who likes to share what I learn. 

I started out as a math-teacher and fell in love with the children …. especially the ones with difficult lives. 

That led me into a counseling degree, which also helped me understand more about my yin yang nature. While basically an introvert, I love organizing experiences for others … camping trips, hootenannies around the campfire … as a matter of fact, I met Joyce through her poem Kumbaya which brought back those memories of the 60s.

As I look back, every time I went through a life event, I dove into research and then shared my discoveries with others.  Having children, I became a childbirth instructor (ASPO/Lamaze). Going through menopause (before it became popular), I researched and read everything I could, becoming a Midlife Transition Facilitator, sharing all those taboo topics of what to do with cucumbers, sex, (or lack thereof), hot flashes, and hormonal changes.  And now, I am almost 73 yrs old (feel 45) and am exploring aging in place and offering spirit gatherings for retirement groups.

Life being what it is, it sometimes comes in waves.  Brian, my West Indian husband, (from Guyana, South America) unexpectedly died while I was in California babysitting my granddaughter. My brother John who had been battling cancer for ten years died six weeks later, and my cat shortly after that. A year later my mom, who had lived with me for ten years, died at 97 1/2.

I was on automatic pilot for years. I attribute my survival to the solace and strength I found in the silence of my meditation group. Of course, I then started facilitating meditation on my own and continued when COVID-19 hit.  I learned how to use Powerpoint and Zoom and began playing relaxing music, motivational quotes and silence for an over-55 group here where I live.