As we age, we have to stop letting our lives
always go in straight lines. And I think that's
what you had said about how it's finally nice
to slow down because we have this thing where
everything is, you know, moving in the lines
about this is where we go. And as you get older,
you're like, well, I don't want to follow that
line of society expectations anymore. Exactly.
Welcome back to Life's Next Lesson Plan. Today,
I'm thrilled to welcome Betsy Corbinier, a passionate
hiker, retired social worker, and author of Time,
Beauty, and Grief, a hike through Wisconsin's
50 state parks. Betsy embarked on an incredible
journey to hike five miles in each of Wisconsin's
50 state parks within a year. weaving together
reflections on aging, resilience, and the healing
power of nature. In this episode, we explore
how hiking became a path to self -discovery,
the lessons she's learned along the trails, and
why embracing adventure, no matter your age,
is so important. Plus, we'll dive into her unique
perspective on life reviews and how they can
help us process time, loss, and change. She learned
this through sitting by the side of hospice patients.
Get ready for an inspiring conversation about
slowing down, finding beauty in unexpected places,
and making peace with life's transitions. I'm
excited to introduce to you today Betsy Corbinier,
who I met in a Facebook hiking group, the same
hiking group where I met Tracy Weber. So these
gracious individuals who I've never met in person
are so wonderful to come and share their interesting
stories with us. I have said it once, and I'll
say it again and again, that every story, every
time I'm done recording a guest podcast, I just...
up so energized and so inspired. And I know this
will be exactly the same case. So I'm excited
to have Betsy here with us and I'll let her start
by just sharing a little bit about her background.
Well, the way we met was we met on the social
media site and I was talking about my book that
came out in August of 2024, Time, Beauty and
Grieve. a hike through Wisconsin's 50 state parks.
And so we kind of met on that website talking
to think about our mutual love of hiking. So
a bit about myself. I received my bachelor's
of social work from Southwest Missouri State
University in Springfield and my master of social
work from the University of Arkansas at Little
Rock. I am now retired after 30 plus years. but
I continue to maintain my Wisconsin license as
a volunteer. I have a certification in Thanatology
from the Association of Over -Death Education
and Counseling. The association is the premier
worldwide organization devoted to this topic.
In fact, they're the ones that actually have
journals, you know, professional journals related
to it. And I've worked with clients ranging from
preemie babies to centenarians. I weave together
my professional and personal knowledge of aging
loss and resilience throughout my book and I
invite the readers to learn more about themselves
and their own aging along with me on my journey.
I'm a native Wisconsinite. I grew up above a
cheese factory. My dad made mozzarella and he
was the president of the Cheese Makers Association
for many years. And after the apartment above
the cheese factory got too small, we moved to
a century old farm. And so that's where I grew
up. I've lived in multiple states and hiked in
multiple states and also in several countries.
However, I'm the very first to admit I am not
an elite athlete. I'm not someone who goes out
and hikes all 1200 miles of the Ice Age Trail
in 45 days. For example, I'm slightly overweight
old woman with a respiratory disability. In fact,
I dyed my hair blue so I could embrace the whole
old blue haired lady look. I don't hike super
fast or large amounts of miles at a time. I hiked
to the 102 mile Cotswolds Way in England in September
of 2024 with a hiking group. It was almost always
the last one because I am slower, yes, but also
because I like to just enjoy the rhythm of hiking.
I like to take the time to forest bathe, to look
for beauty and awe when I'm out in nature. That
to me is the best part of hiking. Beyond all
the ways, it's good for your physical health,
your cardiovascular functioning, your stability
and balance. It really, really is good for your
mental health. Yeah, that's great. I resonate
with the cheese factory thing. Funny story, my
grandma who raised me worked at a cheese factory
in Wisconsin also. To this day everyone in our
family she would always bring home Widmer's brick
cheese wrapped in kind of the red foil and to
this day We call it at every holiday. Do we have
grandma's cheese because it's like became a well
-known? I know in fact my daughter texted me
today and she said I'm at the Milwaukee public
market and they have Widmer's and I'm buying
it She's 17 years old, so it's a generational
thing. Yes, we're both dairy. Exactly. Yes, they
had a farm. And yeah, I can definitely identify
with that. So because we are an educational podcast
here, and I have roots, obviously, in the classroom,
we always share a memorable educational story.
I think you have a college memory to share with
us. OK, great. So the closest university to the
remote town of Rocky Comfort, Missouri where
I was living was Springfield, Missouri. It was
approximately 70 miles away one way. During that
period in my life, I was going to school full
-time, working part -time, and all the driving
became another part -time job. Needless to say,
it was stressful. The things that kept me sane
during the long drives where the beautiful farm
fields, especially the fields of sunflowers,
their heads pointed east on my way to school
and west on my way home. I remember one particular
day that was filled with astonishing beauty and
that contributed to one of my interesting future
hobbies. I was driving to school on the day of
the annular eclipse, driving with my postcard
with the tiny hole in it and the second one for
it to shine onto. As the eclipse got closer,
I pulled off the highway into a rest stop. I
found it filled with other eclipse watchers.
I was mesmerized by the shapes of the leaves
when the eclipse was at its fullest. The sun
almost blocked out by the moon. If you have never
seen this, it's well worth the trouble. Since
then, I've seen two total eclipses, the most
recent last summer in Indiana. And now I got
to get to wear like cool solar eclipse glasses,
which I didn't have back in the day. Annulars
are spectacular, but total eclipses are a spiritual
experience. I don't know if you've ever seen
one, but oh my gosh, they're wonderful. So hence
my hobby of being an umbra file, a shadow lover,
someone who chases eclipses. My friends and I
are planning a trip to Spain in 2026 because
it's got an arc through Iceland and Spain and
Egypt too. So we're going to be in the line of
totality for the next one. Oh, you're kidding
me. When do you leave to get there? I think it
happens, I'm thinking April. I can't even remember.
Okay. We're going to meet this weekend to talk
more about it so we can get our plans down. I
know I was talking to someone about the um others
all these things were there to view the eclipse
in egypt and they're all filled up already oh
wow really i remember it was um a year ago about
that we had a partial eclipse and it was partial
here and then we went to um way way down southern
indiana to see it and um it was funny because
We went to see the eclipse and then we were down
there is like wow we didn't It is really amazing.
I'm such a proponent of like being a tourist
first in your own state and then really just
in the U .S. There is really so much to see.
But I remember everybody, we had a bunch of teachers
who were eclipse chasing also. And so I had a
couple students in my journalism class writing
articles about these teachers who were eclipse
chasing, but they actually let us out of school
for part of the after and they gave all the kids
glasses and we got to go out on the football
field and enjoy it so it's kind of a neat experience
but how fun I mean what an excuse to go to Spain
with some friends What a great story, though.
So speaking of stories, I want to hear and I
want you to share with the listeners just a little
bit more about your hiking journey and about
your book. You know, you obviously are someone
of many interests, so I'd like to hear what put
you on that path. All right. I've always loved
being in a forest, studying the plants and gazing
up at the trees. In fact, my first bachelor's
degree was in botany. I hiked in many parts of
Wisconsin growing up and spent a few years living
in the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas and loved
hiking in the Mark Twain National Forest. I moved
from there to New Mexico and I found the desert
an amazing and varied hiking experience as well.
One of my childhood dreams was, in fact, I first
heard about this when I was an eighth grader.
was to hike the coast -to -coast walk across
England. It goes from the Irish Sea to the North
Sea and I finished its 192 miles a few weeks
shy of my 60th birthday. Wow. I went by myself
and met up with a hiking group when I got to
the start of the trail and it took about 12 days
and it was beyond glorious. It was just absolutely
amazing. Stunning views and Do you sleep along
the course there? Do you camp? Are there hostels?
How does that work? Well, you know, I was turning
60 so I didn't want to carry backpacks anymore
and rough sleep or anything. So I did it with
a tour group where they carry your luggage forward
and you just carry the stuff you need for the
day. You know, like your waterproofs and your
lunch and you know. whatever and then um stand
in a little a little um little ends and hotels
along the way that's amazing i didn't even know
i'm learning so much and again this is something
that i would love to check out more about because
i didn't even know that that was a thing that
you you know i'm picturing everybody carrying
everything on their back i think i'm picturing
the movie wild or something where she like goes
on the Pacific coast trail. And she sleeps in
these tiny tents. And I'm like, ah, I like the
idea of the experience, but not that part of
it. You know, they've never done that. You know,
not doing that. Oh, that's amazing. I didn't
even know that you could do that. OK, I need
to look into that. We went the Cotswolds way.
that again you know then it's like people bring
your luggage forward and you just hike with your
stuff okay you need for the day so good to know
that's the way to go once you're over six yeah
okay um so it took about okay so i talked about
how it took about 12 days it was funny because
like you said i we did run into some people who
had everything they needed and i mean they're
backpacking you know three feet above their head,
but they were all in their 20s. So when I came
up to my 65th birthday, I really wanted another
challenging hike. But with the threat of COVID
still lingering and with my respiratory issues
and all, I decided to keep it close to my home
in Wisconsin. So the angst over the passage of
time, The processing of loss and the constant
battle between integrity and despair profoundly
affect this milestone birthday of turning 65.
With all these aspects in mind, I developed a
quest to hike five miles in each of Wisconsin's
50 state parks in a year. And that's how I decided
to do it. It was just something I came up with.
I knew I could do five miles so that it would
be a challenge, but not an impossible one. That
is the thing with a quest and really everything
in life you have to consider your own risk tolerance
When you take a risk it breaks the rules about
how you thought of yourself and what your life
has to be You expand the territory of yourself
And as I like to say, it's better to die on an
adventure than live standing still. That's a
great line. Yes, that's great. I have a sticker
like that. Perfect. So having a quest, you get
a positive brain chemistry boost because you're
achieving goals. And it helps you to know that
when life throws you difficult things, you can
get through them or try your darkest to do so.
Most of the 50 hikes were done by myself, but
some I had friends come along and meeting life's
challenges keeps us growing and that's a really
important thing. You don't want to ever stop
growing as a person. I spent time taking notes
as I went and writing them up for myself to remember
my hikes and process the myriad of changes related
to my aging. from downsizing to orphanhood to
my change in relationship with time. It is the
reason the world time is in the title of my book.
As we age, time becomes a much more tangible
thing. It no longer is an abstract, but almost
becomes like a being that accompanies us on our
journey. The more parks I visited and the more
folks I told of my quest, the more people wanted
me to put them into a book. So that's what I
did. My book is part trail guide art memoir and
part conversation on the adventure of becoming
a senior citizen. It is filled with information
on the trails I hiked and each parks chapter
has one of my stylized hand drawn maps of the
route I took. People get a kick out of the different
kinds of compasses that I have in there. It's
really pretty fun And there's a list of the parks
details that you're gonna need and Doing the
minimum five miles allowed me to experience each
park in depth even the small ones and that minimum
became an opportunity to engage in the mindfulness
of hiking During that year an existential dilemma
slapped me really hard in the face and I decided
to include that experience in my book because
it allowed me to speak to the issue of trauma
and recovery and continuing to journey forward
to finish what I had started and to have the
resilience to continue and to persevere. Wow.
Amazing. It took you a year. Like, did you originally
put a time frame on it? Like, you wanted to do
it in a year? Yeah, I wanted to do it in a year.
I actually finished it in 13 months because of
the existential dilemma. Okay. Right. I don't
want to get that part of the story away. Right.
No, we don't want to spoil the ending, right?
Or spoil the rising action of the book. Yeah,
I'm sure there's another book that Tracy talked
about in her episode. Have you heard of it's
called the 12 hour hike or something like that?
And she did it. She was going through a divorce
and, you know, loved hiking and. It's just this
idea that you take 12 hours no phone no companions
no dogs nothing and you just go out and You know
she explained how she did it and she did take
a phone just for safety reasons But and for taking
a few pictures But she had it planned out where
she was gonna put her food in which you know
a trail She was familiar with and knew where
the bathrooms were But I want to look into that
too because that's I had never heard of that
before yeah And then she kind of journaled, as
you said, she kind of mentioned some of the feelings
that she was having and some of the observations
that she was making along the way. And I just
find that so fascinating that, you know, It's
it's sad that I've waited till this point in
my life to say you can slow down. It's okay Right
to take an hour or five miles like you're saying
And it sounds so attainable when you break it
down, you know, I'm gonna just do five miles
But how much you saw and what you experienced
and how life -changing that that is So that's
that's so fascinating I am sure that you, I'm
not sure if you had an inspiration originally
for the hiking aspect of it, but I'm assuming
you've had some impactful mentors along the way.
We always talk about people who inspire us. So
can you share a little bit about a mentor that
you've had on your journey? Well, I credit my
resilience to my grandmother Elizabeth, my mom's
mom. She had an amazing, terrifying and incredible
life. Growing up in Appalachia, she was taken
out of school at age seven to care for her blind
father and married at 13 to her 35 -year -old
coal mining husband. She finally taught herself
to read when she was 70. The mother of 10, she
lived to see four of them die before her. She
babysat the grandchildren of devil aunts Hatfield,
Apparently my family was on the Hatfield side
of the feud and once used a cast iron frying
pan to fight off a cougar who was stalking her
toddlers. She was fierce and gentle, creative
and steadfast. She was a fantastic gardener.
I talk a lot about the importance of being a
gardener in my book, not necessarily of plants,
but of kindness, just like she did. Everything
she touched sprang to life and burst into flower.
Look for beauty, she would tell me. It is in
it. In it is where you can continue to live and
continue to hope, even when life is at its darkest.
Searching for and finding beauty is how I honor
her and where I discover my resolve and determination.
It is the reason the word beauty is in the title
of my book. my grandmother's wisdom. And also
because our state parks are just so incredibly
beautiful. Yeah, that's, I love these little
tidbits of how you were inspired for the title
of your book as well. That's really fun to hear.
She sounds a lot like my grandmother, who I mentioned
before also had 10 kids. Now she was older than
13, but... This reminds me of reading the book
Hillbilly Elegy. Have you read that? That takes
place in Appalachia. Well, our current vice president
wrote it, actually, JD Vance, but I read it.
I read it during the pandemic, actually, before
I knew who he even was. But that's where he grew
up. And oh, my, the stories. Wow. Yeah. And,
you know, hearing her story and reading his,
you can really feel for these people who had
to grow up just so quickly. Oh, my gosh. Wow.
What a story. And like you said, the resolve
and the ability to overcome adversity, and when
we think we have a problem, we think back to
these people and think, okay, I can get through
this, right? Yeah. Before we get into Betsy's
lesson today, we're going to take a little break
for some ads and our Ask the Teacher Anything
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Coach Megan is a busy mom like me who works full
time, so I appreciate her practicality mixed
with some tough love to keep me going. That sound
means it's time for our ask the teacher anything
segment. So I have two questions today to answer
Number one what emotions have been the hardest
to navigate during this transition? Hmm great
question. I think right after I made the decision
It's normal to have a lot of second guessing
and doubt, but I have to be honest, that didn't
last very long because I spent a lot of time
contemplating this decision and I was getting
a lot of signs from the universe that it was
the right decision. Now I have zero. wavering
or questioning that decision I know a hundred
percent it's the right decision and that's because
one of the biggest emotions I've been having
is just because I made the decision so early
in the school year. It is if I'm gonna be honest
very hard to hype myself up you know teachers
have to put on a brave face every single day
and they have to be patient and happy and motivating
and that's been harder. because my mind is kind
of in different places. So I've been trying to
pick things that I really enjoy teaching and
I'm still making changes to lesson plans to,
I think, you know, make them better for kids
and make them more exciting. And that kind of
keeps me going. But, you know, it's been hard
juggling trying to, you know, firm up my next
career step and There's that. unsure feeling
of like, you know, it's not signed on the dotted
line yet as of recording this, we're getting
closer. But I think I'll feel better once that
is secured. And so, you know, kind of a gamut
of second guessing, and then that sort of went
away. And then it's okay, I know I'm doing the
right thing. How do I stay invested for 50 more
days of the school year, which is where I'm at
now at the time of taping this. And, you know,
I just, I don't want to leave on a low note.
So trying to keep my eyes in the classroom focused
there, but also looking ahead at just like making
the right decisions for the future as well. So
it's been a lot. Second question, what's a topic
you're nervous, but excited to cover on your
podcast? Ooh. I like this. I think I have two.
There are a lot of people who want to talk about
what's going on in education and I have to walk
that line of I'm still in the classroom right
now and so You know, I've I've been kind of putting
those conversations off a little bit and talking
about, you know What can we do to make education
better rather than just eventing session and
also not all of my listeners are educators So
I don't want every single episode to be just
about what's going on in education and a pity
party about education and teachers and what they're
going through but I have to say I It was a very,
very eye -opening to me when my position was
posted, and I thought we had a good five years
before we saw in our district the effects of
the teacher shortage, but wow was that eye -opening.
But anyway, that makes me a little bit nervous
just because I'm still employed by a school district.
Secondly, though, and... I think this is what
the Patreon is for. And again, once I'm done
teaching, we'll be able to open up a little bit
more on Patreon with some more personal things.
But I've gone through a lot in the last year
with just decisions in my personal life as well,
as all part of this aligning my life to my values.
I've made some very difficult decisions that
I've Toyed with for probably again More than
30 years and so I'd like to talk a little bit
more about that on patreon as well because I'm
learning more and more that I'm so not alone
in that. And there's a lot of people struggling
with some of the things that I have made very
difficult decisions about in my personal life.
And so I'd like to talk about that. That's probably
more of a topic for Patreon though. And so I'm
looking forward to doing those. I love, love,
love getting questions from you, so please keep
them coming. You can submit them on my website
at Life's Next Lesson Plan dot com. There's an
Ask the Teacher Anything box there, or you can
just shoot me a DM on Instagram. We're back from
break and Betsy is ready to share her impactful
lesson with everyone and So we'll hear what she
has to say and then of course she will have a
little bit of reflection and Some action steps
for us today All right, so A big lesson that
I would like to share with your listeners is
to do a life review on milestone birthdays. I
had done countless life reviews with dying patients
as a hospice social worker and had decided long
ago to do mine as I lived, not to wait till the
end so I could embrace the freedom and adventures
of aging. I wanted to give myself the space to
contemplate my journey because on that journey
is where you learn about the destination, about
what you want to be when you get there and how
you want to be in it. I include questions in
my book with each of the parts chapters to invite
you to discover your own life review as well.
Life reviews are a process of thinking back over
our lives thus far. They help to increase our
self -awareness and reduce feelings of despair.
Life reviews help us let go of emotions we don't
need to carry around to find ways to process
our losses. reframe our regrets, and find safe
places for our traumas. This is the reason the
word grief is in the title of my book. Because
let's face it, as we age, we have ever more grief
experiences. The grief of losing family members,
of losing control, the grief of our changing
bodies, and of countless goodbyes. We don't talk
enough about grief and loss in our culture, but
it is. Nevertheless, a huge part of our lives.
During our lifetimes, we go through several stages
of personality development. We work on meeting
challenges, making decisions, and resolving conflicts.
Each stage has a positive strength and a negative
maladaptation. The strengths build a sustainable
life. The maladaptations build a fragile structure
prone to collapse. As a school social worker,
I considered the tasks of the stages of industry
versus inferiority and identity versus role confusion.
You're nodding your head because you know you've
heard of these. In my work with elders, I used
the final stage, which I now exist in myself.
We began the functions of this one around 65
years old and work on them until we die. Understanding
our privileges and failures traumas and achievements
is the important task as we age That's why if
you've been around elders, you'll tell the same
story many many times It's that processing of
their own life story. It's their own life review
interesting So we need to find out did we have
a good life all in all that's the question at
the heart of our aging journey this final stage
is called the Integrity versus despair. Integrity
is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction
we feel about our lives as a whole, and it helps
us to approach our aging in positive ways. Despair
is the feelings of regret and shame, bitterness
and hopelessness. It can cause us to think we've
just wasted time and missed opportunities, making
it easy to be negative about growing older. I
talk about this ongoing battle between these
two forces in my book and how they influence
our continued search for meaning and purpose
in our lives. I include in my book a few of the
poems I wrote about the clients I worked with
when I was working in hospice. But I want to
share one here written by Emily Dickinson because
it's perfectly reflects the idea of integrity
as we age. It's not that you have to be some
huge change agent or influence thousands of people.
It really is just about one art. So here's the
poem. If I can stop one heart from breaking by
Emily Dickinson. If I can stop one heart from
breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can
ease one life that aching or cool one pain. or
help one fainting Robin onto her nest again,
I shall not live in vain. That's what integrity
as age means. Being out on a hiking trail, being
out in nature is a perfect time for this deep
self -reflection of a life review to address
these complex emotions that involve finding your
balance between integrity and despair. This self
-reflection helps us to make peace with our losses
and endings, and it helps us to learn to embrace
the chaos and impermanence of life and to cherish
each day as it comes. Yeah. Well, I love that
you shared a poem. This English teacher's heart
is just so happy right now. And I love Emily
Dickinson. I did a huge project on Emily Dickinson
in college. So thank you so much for sharing
that. Yeah. She was quite an amazing. Mm -hmm.
And, you know, it's interesting that she really
never planned for her poems to be found, right?
Which gives you a whole different perspective
of, like, these are really her deep, vulnerable
thoughts, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, amazing. Thank
you so much. Wow, that gives me a lot to think
about. I love this. So, in your reflection, are
we going to be able to kind of think about and
process a little bit of your lesson here? Yeah.
So... In thinking about it, a goal setting is
give yourself a challenge and allow yourself
the time to reflect on your life. Plan this challenge.
You can start small or dream big, but don't wait.
There are countless studies out there about how
as we age, we must continue to challenge ourselves
to do difficult things, even though they offer
few extrinsic rewards. It's kind of like challenging
myself to go hike the Cotswolds way. and I was
getting ready to fly into London. I was feeling
lots of trepidation because I had to like figure
out the trains and get you know things because
there's many trains to get to the from London
to the Cotswolds and I was like I have all the
tools I need and I can do it and it was a wonderful
difficult challenge and it felt really good to
be able to do it. So that's what you want to
do. Love that. I love that point about the few
extrinsic rewards because again. Yeah, nobody's
gonna be like, oh giving me lots of you know
athletes for it. It's more you know I get that
sense that I did this and it's a challenge I
overcame. Right. And so even though that our
efforts may have little significance to anyone
else they remind us that they are about the journey.
It's not where you eventually end up. We can
find purpose in our endeavors and we're able
to do more than we expect of ourselves. We should
lead our lives more like hiking trails that bend
and turn and go up and down, because just like
hiking does for us physically, this mindset lets
us have find better stability and balance. So
hiking and the challenge it provides increases
our self -esteem and resilience in the face of
adversity. So plan a quest, be out in nature.
Wade in the lakes, take in the awe of our waterfalls,
the quiet of the deep forest, and journal about
your travels. Your stress levels will decrease
and writing will help you process your thoughts
and find gratitude in your life. Because sometimes
the trail is more than just a path. Sometimes
it's a life change. I love that. Oh yes and the
power of nature and what it what it can do for
you and it's funny that exactly what you're saying
when we do slow down and we allow ourselves to
meander and not worry about the next checkpoint
in the straight line it just seems to happen
so late you know later than it should in life
and that's Part of my quest that I've been on
with this podcast is to have people think about
and take inventory about what their lives look
like, you know, because tomorrow is not promised.
And, you know, take an inventory of where you
are and how you are enjoying life. Are you enjoying
it or is one day just, you know, I felt like
I was on a hamster wheel of groundhog days, just
waking up, doing the same thing and, and kept
saying, you know, when I retire, I'll do this.
When I retire, I do. I'll do this and just stop
let me off the wheel let me reevaluate here a
little bit so yeah okay so for our homework assignment
our takeaways our action steps what do you have
for us well if you've never hiked before don't
be intimidated by all the hiking gear ask people
they love to talk about what works for them as
far as equipment goes Join some hiking social
media sites like Coral Rachel and ask questions
about boots and pants and backpacks and poles.
There's really several great groups. There's
one was called Wisconsin State Parks, Women Hiking
Wisconsin, there's Women Hiking South Central
Wisconsin, lots and lots of them. I've been on
them asking questions and answering questions
too. They can help you find your risk versus
comfort level and frequently have events that
you can join other people to hike if you've never
been out so it makes it a little easier to jump
in and really big action takeaway Stop carrying
if you're hiking fashion measures up to anyone
else's I've hiked with women who are decked out
in the most expensive kit and women who wear
jeans and flip -flops when they're out there
The point is just to allow yourself permission
to not care what other people think. Instead,
work on deeply caring for your own beautiful
self. Make peace with your flaws, cherish your
own company, and just get out there. Age disgracefully,
that's what I like to say. Don't let societal
norms define you. The only thing you should be
giving up is the judgment of others. We are allowed
to be grateful for our aging and to embrace it
wholeheartedly. Not accepting the conventional
myths about aging and staying positive really
does make for a happier, healthier, and longer
life. Oh, I love that so much. I'm just writing
down all these powerful time stamps here of so
many inspiring things that you said that I want
to come back to. But yeah, I was just asking
someone about polls because I was asking some
girlfriends like you guys finding that as we
age your balance seems a little worse and most
of them and with this was after I was hiking
Devil's Lake and they were like well we're not
like traversing boulders like you just were so
yeah one person said yeah i noticed my balance
is a little i was like okay what's the age for
poles i think i might be ready oh yeah and they
really do it's better to get them earlier than
later because they'll save your needs okay and
um save you from falling down on roots because
One of the reasons I really like them because
I do like to look around a lot when I'm hiking.
When you have poles, you don't have to watch
so much what's on the ground. Like if there's
a rock or a root or whatever, you might hit it,
but you're not gonna fall down. Oh, that's such
a great point because I feel like I was looking
at the ground that whole time because it was
so uneven and my vision is, you know, I don't
hike and my readers and I'm like, trying to just
get used to the changes that are occurring and
still enjoy myself. I was getting so down on
like, oh, I just feel so unsteady and it's taking
away from the experience. So yeah, that's what's
nice about having polls. They really do help
you just. relax a little bit and be able to look
around more than just watching the ground right
in front of you. Okay perfect that's going to
be on my birthday list for my 52nd birthday this
year for sure. Awesome well it's been so amazing
having you today Betsy obviously you're so knowledgeable
and so inspirational and I just appreciate you
taking the time to share your messages with the
listeners. Well, great, and I hope everyone checks
out my book Yes, so I'm going to put a link to
where you can get Betsy's book in the show notes
and I'll post some additional links as well that
she has shared with me It didn't win a book award
as well, and I look forward to checking it out
myself Wow, what an incredible conversation.
Betsy's journey through Wisconsin State Parks
is more than just a hiking challenge. It's a
testament to resilience, self -reflection, and
the beauty of embracing life's transitions. If
Betsy's story resonated with you, be sure to
check out her book, Time, Beauty, and Grief,
A Hike Through Wisconsin's 50 State Parks. I've
linked it in the show notes. And don't forget,
whether it's through hiking, journaling, or simply
taking time to pause, we all have the power to
reflect on where we've been and where we're headed.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe,
leave a rate and review, or share it with someone
who needs a little inspiration today. You can
always follow along on Life's Next Lesson Plan
on YouTube and all social media for more behind
the scenes content. Until next time, keep exploring,
keep reflecting, and keep learning. We'll see
you soon.