How Janet Taylor Reinvented Herself Through Midlife Caregiving—One Organized System at a Time

What happens when life throws you into a caregiving role you never expected? 

For professional organizer Janet Taylor, it meant putting her business on hold, stepping up for her beloved mom, and discovering a new layer of strength, purpose, and reinvention.

In this inspiring and heartfelt episode, Janet shares how she navigated the intense, emotional, and often overwhelming journey of midlife caregiving — and how her organizing superpowers became her greatest ally.

✨ You’ll hear how Janet:

• 🌿 Reinvented herself in midlife when her caregiving role became all-consuming
• 🧩 Used organization systems to manage her mother’s care, medications, and finances
• 🫶 Learned to ask for help and build a support system to avoid burnout
• 🎙️ Discovered her voice and became a powerful advocate in medical settings
• ⏸️ Took a pause after caregiving to rest, reflect, and welcome new professional opportunities

Janet’s story reminds us that reinvention often begins in the most unexpected places — and that even in the midst of challenge, we can rise, reclaim our voice, and find clarity through the chaos.

🎯 Whether you're a caregiver, an organizer at heart, or a midlife woman searching for your next chapter, Janet’s wisdom will touch your soul and inspire you to take empowered steps forward.

Connect with Janet Taylor

• Website: janetmtaylor.com
• Instagram: @janettheorganizer

🎙️ More Great Listening

 👉 Missed last week’s episode? Don’t miss the fun and wisdom in Midlife Private Parts: Dina Aronson & Dina Alvarez on Reinvention, Visibility & Owning Your Story – Listen here

👉 Check out my friend Adriene Berg's podcast, The Ageless Traveler, to discover enticing locations, luxury travel for less, grandparent and solo travel,
adventure itineraries, and meet the people who make travel easy.

🎁 Free Gift Just for You!

Need some inspiration to kickstart your own reinvention? Grab my free guide:
 💡 100 Ways to Reinvent Yourself in Midlife — practical, playful, and powerful ideas to help you take bold steps forward.

Ready to hear how organizing isn’t just for closets — but for reclaiming your life, your voice, and your power? 🎧 Listen now and be inspired by Janet’s beautiful journey of care and courage.

Kick your midlife fears and uncertainty to the curb and start your Reinvention Rebels journey today. Learn about my audio program, Midlife Reinvention From The Inside Out: 8 Essentials to Greenlight Your Life.

Chapters

• 0:00 Reinvention Rebels Podcast Featuring Janet Taylor
• 4:57 Midlife Caregiving Reinvention Journey
• 13:31 The Power of Caregiver Organization
• 21:26 Empowering Caregiving Through Reinvention
• 29:55 The Power of Reinvention and Rest

Transcript

00:00 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
It's OK to take a pause, you know, because I think sometimes we feel like, oh gosh, if I take a pause, everything is going to fall apart, and it didn't. Actually, after that moment, that's when things really started taking off for my business. I was on HGTV. A little shortly after that I got government contracts, so it was just a moment where I needed to focus on a priority. But then take a moment once I got finished in that role is to take a break, because I think if I had not taken that break, I would not have been able to receive everything that I actually came after that. 

00:54 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Welcome to Reinvention Rebels stories of brave and unapologetic women, 50 to 90 years young, who have boldly reinvented life on their own terms to find new purpose and possibilities. I'm your host, wendy Battles, ready to kick your fears to the curb, do it scared and step into who you are meant to be in midlife and beyond. These amazing women, these reinvention rebels, can help light your reinvention path. Come join us and let's get inspired together. Hey, hey, hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Reinvention Rebels podcast, where we are here to celebrate midlife boldness, to shine a light on the amazing women that are over 50 and reinventing in the most remarkable, interesting, juicy, extraordinary ways. And if you came for inspiration and to see what's possible, you are in the right place. I am so psyched you're here. 

02:01
I hope you caught the last episode with the Dinas, dina Alvarez and Dina Aronson, talking about this very topic. Stepping into our own onto center stage, we chatted all about their new book, midlife Private Parts, which I am reading right now and is so good A series of essays from midlife women about our experiences, everything from empty nesting to menopause, to, you know, me lighting that flame and sexual desire, and so much more. You got to check out this episode. Details are in the show notes. But today I'm so excited because in a moment I'm going to introduce you to the fantastic Janet Taylor, my guest today. But I do want to tell you to hold on until the end, because I've got a special gift for you about tuning into our midlife possibilities. You're going to want to stick around and check it out. 

03:01
Now let's get to this amazing conversation with Janet Taylor. At 61, janet Taylor has spent decades helping individuals and businesses create clarity and order in their spaces, but her true gift lies in her deep understanding of the emotional and mental weight that clutter, both physical and personal, can carry. As a podcast host, she's more than just a voice. She's a mentor, a friend and a guiding light cheering you on as you take steps toward a more organized and empowered life. And today she's here to share another powerful reinvention her journey as a caregiver and the invaluable lessons she's learned along the way. Janet Taylor, welcome to the Reinvention Rebels guest chair. 

04:10 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Wendy, I am so excited to be here with you today. I'm dancing in my chair. 

04:14 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Girl, me too. And you know what is so cool. I love that we met so serendipitously through somebody else who I don't even honestly remember what this woman's name was. It was so long ago, no, but it was a podcasting group for women and we connected and even back then, which was at least a couple of years ago, we were like we have to guest on each other's podcast and it took us a while to get here. But here we are. Yes, girl, I'm excited. I'm excited and you know it's interesting because I haven't done an episode about reinventing as a caregiver. So this is so apropos because I know so many women in all. You know all different parts of their lives, but especially women in midlife. 

05:07 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Oh yeah. 

05:09 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Which is so typical, where we find ourselves, whether we want to or not, whether it was unexpected or not, we find ourselves in caregiving roles, and I get it. We've all been caregivers, often for kids or nieces and nephews. 

05:23 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
You know, in some way we babysat. 

05:25 - Wendy Battles (Host)
We've all been in that role in some capacity, whether teeny, tiny or really big. But today I'm so excited about this conversation because you spent so much time in your business. This business you've run for 31 years, which is, I just got to say, so huge, so huge. I'm like high five. 

05:47 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Thank you High five to that number one, Okay. 

05:50 - Wendy Battles (Host)
That is no small task. It is so cool. But today I do want to talk about how you have reinvented yourself as a caregiver in midlife. Can you just start us off by telling me a little bit about that journey? 

06:07 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
So that journey came unexpectedly. I was actually on my way out to a speaking engagement and I was in the kitchen looking in the hallway and I saw my mother fall and I just thought it was. She slipped, she fell on the sofa, took her to the hospital, thinking OK, she just injured her side. Well, that's when it all of a sudden said well, she's got leukemia, which is a form of cancer. That was like 18 months, 18 months of full time caregiving I did for her. So I put everything on hold and just did it. It was like that's how it started. It was like it wasn't something that was gradual, it was like all of a sudden, it was like I'm here. 

06:53 - Wendy Battles (Host)
So that, I know, is shocking when these unexpected things happen and I know that life is so fragile for older people. When they fall, they break something. I mean it really can change for so many people the trajectory of their lives, as you just mentioned. So it's hard to imagine. So you've never been a caregiver in this capacity. All of a sudden, you find yourself on this path. How did you pivot? Because I think so much of what we have to do as women is that we pivot and we've learned to pivot over the course of our life and you know, and I think in a lot of ways we are pretty good at it. But this is a whole nother level of something unexpected and a whole new role. I think that helped a lot, Wendy. That helped a lot. 

07:40 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
The organization, the support, and just kind of just doing one day at a time, because that's really just all I could do was one day at a time. I had made a decision okay, I've got this business. But you know what Mom comes first. So I just kind of moved into that role and I did it because, like you said, it was something I had never done. So all of a sudden, now I'm talking to doctors having conversations that was, I felt, sometimes way above my head. 

08:14
I actually began to move not only in the role of caregiver but also advocate, because she was at a place where, you know, she's trying to figure all this out, she's trying to understand what's going on. You know they're telling her, you know you got to do chemo, you got to do this, that and the other. So then I had to kind of step in and just like, okay, so not only am I going to have to take care of her because you know, I know sometimes what that journey can be but then also I got to manage her life, I got to make sure that nobody's taking advantage of her, and through all that, I know somehow I did get lost, but it was always making sure to take care of her. So it was all I can say was just one day at a time, but just really. The organization played a big role and the support that I had surrounding me played a huge role, because I wouldn't have been able to do it because I was her only child. 

09:07 - Wendy Battles (Host)
So already that's like a lot on your plate to contend with. You've never done it before. So it's not like you have a caregiver playbook. And you're right, because it also involves. It's not just something simple. And when I say simple because breaking a hip is not simple, but it's different than cancer and all of the decisions and information I mean it's much more straightforward. You break a hip, well, the hip needs to heal. You might need to go to rehab, maybe then you go to, you know, you start physical therapy, you come home Right. That's one level of support. But this is very, very different and having experienced that myself with my mom who had lung cancer, that myself with my mom who had lung cancer, and I'm very familiar with that, and I understand that feeling of so much information. Sometimes you have to make some choices or help. You know, try to explain things. It's hard, it's very hard. So I understand that that's, that's not an easy thing to do. 

10:03 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Yeah, and then also, you know, like I said, I became the caregiver, the advocate, and then also and when do you know, it's becoming your parent to a parent. 

10:12 - Wendy Battles (Host)
A whole nother story. Right, that's a whole nother layer. The parent to a parent, the role reversal, the being the one that's making a firm decision, when they may not want to do that. Or I mean it's in their best interest when they may not want to do that. Or I mean it's in their best interest but still they're like just like we would do when we were kids and we'd be like I'm not, you're not, is you have a temper tantrum? Or you put your foot down and your mother's like you will do what I say. 

10:33 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
I know, I know. 

10:46 - Wendy Battles (Host)
And it's weird. When you get into that space it's like, okay, think for everybody, for us sometimes to be asserting ourselves with our parents in a way that's very different than the dynamic often that we grew up with. So it's, I feel like it's a lot of growing pains, it is. 

11:01 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
It really is and it really lets you know your strengths but also your weaknesses as well. And I think sometimes knowing those strengths and leaning into it, but also the weakness is like okay, I need help, I need somebody, I need somebody to help me, I need, I can't do this, I need help, I need, I need this, that the other, so yeah, oh, you're so right about the asking for help part, because I think that we want to feel like we can do everything ourselves. 

11:30 - Wendy Battles (Host)
We want to feel competent. But at the same time, when it comes to something like this, you know it's so easy to burn ourselves out, it's so easy to become a martyr. We're doing like everything we can, but at what cost and why, when, as you pointed out, you could ask for help. So tell us a little bit about how you did that. How did you sort of reinvent this idea of getting people to help you, not just going it alone, which is a shift for many of us? How did that unfold for you? 

12:00 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
So I think part of the help was, of course, getting her back and forth to her appointments, and it was so wonderful that at that time I was going to a very small church and the deacons in that church would basically be transportation for me, so they would always like, okay, when's our appointment? When did she had to? 

12:13 - Wendy Battles (Host)
go back. 

12:14 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
That's wonderful, I would always. And then I started cause my mother would always have like the little you know, the memo pad you can put on the refrigerator, yeah, and she was always good at listing things. Well, I started listing stuff that I needed. So then friends would call what do you need? And I'd look at the list Well, I need some eggs, some milk. That was before eggs are what they are now Eggs, milk. I need some bread Okay, I got that covered. 

12:40
Or one time I was doing writing some stuff, I needed some, some, some envelopes. I had told her I need some envelope. Okay, that's covered. And just knowing so that's how they helped me. 

12:49
And then also my mother, even though I was the only child, my mother was one of 10. And during that time, wendy, I realized, cause she was one of the older ones, she was like number. Let's see, she was number three. Okay, she was. I realized that she was really looked up to. So her brothers and sisters, okay, what can my aunts and uncles, what do we need? What do you need? How can we be supportive? 

13:15
So I just really like brought everybody in, not only during her illness but then even after she passed away. It just blew my mind. Even the people in the neighborhood, it just blew my mind. But yeah, just asking for help and knowing when to ask for it. And even you know, I didn't realize one of my cousins was studying, she was in cancer research. So it got to the point where when the doctors would come into the room and that little cluster, like they always did, I'd like hold on and then I give her the phone and let her do all the talking. And that wasn't all they were like. And then after that they were like we didn't know, you had a doctor in the family, oh yeah, and there were times when they would tell me they were going to do things. But then she intervened because she found out that they were going to have somebody do a procedure on my mother who had never done it before. Oh, I didn't know that. 

14:05 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Wow, so having yeah, that's like that's so huge to have an advocate to have. You know you're in the role of an advocate, but yet you also have your advocates, and so I think that's such a big aha. 

14:17 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Yeah, it was, it was. And then also having people in my life who these were women who were older, a lot older than me, who were my mother's age, who had been caregivers for their mothers, and they just gave me all kinds of advice and it was simple stuff, like when she was first in the hospital. One of them said, janet, start picking off of her plate and eating food. And I thought that was the weirdest thing. I'm like, well, that's not something we do. But she said, because I want your mother to see you eat, because, even though she's sick, but she's still concerned about you and you taking care of yourself, and it was just like the happiest thing. She just was so happy seeing me eat food. So, yeah, so it's just like really surrounding yourself with your own little village, even as a caregiver, yeah, you may feel a little alone, but having somebody else in your, in your corner very well, will be a caregiver someday, because it's hard for us not to be in some way whether it's to a spouse, a child, our parent, a friend, right? 

15:25 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Because we also, just like your friends, came and were there for you, right? You would do, obviously, the same as I would, too, for my friends, and I think there's so many powerful lessons to be learned. One thing I heard you say that really resonated with me, especially as a person who is not organized the way you are. That's how I'll just say that. I'll just put it that way, janet, you know, I love that you are so beautifully organized, as was my mother. She was, like, so meticulous about things. I think it's really interesting that you talked about this idea of organizing, and I would love it if you could talk a little bit more about why that's so important when we become caregivers. Like how can being organized really help us ease that journey of caregiving? 

16:11 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
I think for me there were several different things. One because it reduced my stress, but also one of the things I noticed is because I was full time caregiving, people had kind of assumed, I guess, who I was and what I represented somehow, wendy, because I was always there. So they kind of assumed, I guess I didn't know what was going on or you know, or something. So what I did was I created a book, because I saw them every time they came to visit my mother they had this binder. So I said you know what? I'm going to create a binder. And the binder basically had all of her discharges. The front of the binder had a list of all her medications and then anything else that I needed the doctors give me. Then one day, when I had to take her to emergency, I had the binder and then the doctor was talking to her and I was telling him what happened. But it was like it wasn't like sinking in, I'm like but I know what happened because I was there. And then I said and then, according to this date and that date, and he looked at he's like, wow. He said can I see this? He said I promise I give it back. He said this is amazing, I said because I kept telling the story over and over again and I'm like they need to see the history, they need to see her journey. So that was one thing I did. Also, because some mornings we get up she was going to be home all day. Other mornings she might not be feeling good. I had to take her to the hospital emergency. So I just started keeping all her medication in a bag so that way I didn't have to run around trying to find it. I always had a list of all her doctors. I had a list of all her medications, the milligrams. I did that and then, as it got closer to the end of her life, I would always organize her clothes and her outfits. So therefore, when she went to bed at night, I would always have her little clothes right by her bed, so that when she woke up in the morning and we went through the ritual and I did, you know, I did her bathing and everything. They were right there. And we went through a ritual and I did, you know, I did her bathing and everything. They were right there. 

18:04
So it was things like that, and even it got to a point where I had to actually take over managing her finances, because I realized why is her checking account getting so low? Because she's not doing anything. But I realized in her mind and because of when she grew up, when something came in and it had it looked like a statement and it had a balance due, you pay it. But of course, you know, wendy, with insurance companies they got to work stuff out and then you get a final bill. So I had to. Basically, you know, because you do have to walk tread lightly around them. 

18:32
I became her administrative assistant and I said this is how I would like for us to move forward. What I'll do is I will open the bills and I will write out the check, but I still want you to sign the check, and she was fine with that. So that helped me manage what was going in, coming out, but still helped her feel like she was in control. So those were things as well. And also just planning her meals. I did that too, just making sure that she ate healthy. 

19:02 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I really, really appreciate all the different examples you just gave of what you did and especially this idea of organizing all of this paperwork, because I know from my mom going to the hospital different times there's all these different discharge papers and you know she might be in there for something small this time but something else the other time, and I never even thought of that idea having it in a notebook, like all those things to see the history. Like, yes, I could explain it, but you know how it is. After a while sometimes you get confused about the visits. 

19:35 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Was this one for this or? 

19:36 - Wendy Battles (Host)
that Because there got to be so many that I had a hard time keeping it straight. Yeah, yeah, this is such a fantastic idea as a caregiver, as someone who is the advocate, to be able to have all that information there and documented, and because sometimes we do run into the situation that people don't always believe us, which just seems so crazy. Like I mean, I've experienced this. 

19:56 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Thank you very much. 

19:57 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Hello, yeah, but to be able to say in very plainly, pragmatically, objectively too because you know it is that there's a lot of emotions also involved in all the ups and downs of this to have something that's just so clear, what a difference. And this idea too of just the medicine in the bag, just having it at the ready, yeah. 

20:15 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Yeah, I mean because I remember one time she took medication and she passed out right afterwards. So I took her to emergency. I told the doctor what happened. Of course he acted like I wasn't there. I said I was there, I said it had to be the medication. I said because she just had a visit from a friend, from one of my friends, came to visit, talked to her about some natural, like eating more fruits and vegetables would help her and all that kind of stuff. And I said she ate her lunch and next thing, you know, she took the medication. She passed out. 

20:43
So of course he's looking at me like and then when they looked at the milligrams, she was given the wrong milligram. And that's when I'm like you know what, I need to keep track of all this stuff. So I don't know, I go to the pharmacist to make sure and also it teaches you stuff. You know you go through these I hate to say trial and errors it's like, oh, I need to know this, I need to know that. So yeah, and that's why I had that book. It was like was going on and she was in here last week for this, she in here for this. 

21:11 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Yeah, that's powerful, considering that you know the situation in which we find ourselves in. Yeah, I like this idea that we can kind of reinvent how we approach caregiving. That can ease our mind too, as well as easing their mind, as you talked about how you work with your mom around, like the bills and her being part of it. Right, we can ease their mind, but we can also do what we need to for ourselves so we don't have to feel, as it's already stressful enough. So it's hard not to be stressed but to you know, to try to minimize the stress by putting some systems in place. I know organizers are always talking about systems, like I've worked with organizers like well, you know, wendy, if you had a system, if you had a system. Or my husband saying, well, wendy, if you always put your keys in the same place, you know where they were. So I appreciate this idea of some guardrails to ultimately help us navigate this experience that may be new with greater ease. 

22:10 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Yeah, and also I think it helps them the person we're taking care of because I realized after a certain point Wendy, it was almost like she began to relax. She began to relax and like, okay, I'm going to let Janet handle stuff to the point where, you know, there were times that she was in the hospital for a week, several days, and she would always tell the person who would bring the menu for the next leave it right there, because my daughter's going to come in and she's going to take care of it. 

22:38 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I like that. So she trusts you, and I think that's so important because, you know, for any of us, as we get older and we become often less independent or maybe we're losing our memory or the things we just can't do the way we used to, which we kind of take for granted to be able to have a trusted person is so key. 

22:59 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
It is, it truly is. That's just like OK, wow, and she was like, yeah, just put it. Yeah, because the guy said, yeah, your mother told me just to leave it there and you would take care of it. I said, yeah, I will. I will, I'll take care of it. I will, I'll take care of it, thank you. 

23:11 - Wendy Battles (Host)
You have talked about so many different things, about your both reinvention journey and this idea of marrying, how we can reinvent the experience of being a caregiver or maybe just start fresh. Maybe we haven't done before. We're like you're and someone's listening. They're like oh, I'm going to take some mental notes when I become a caregiver, because these are some really helpful ideas the marriage of reinvention and caregiving, which I love. I am curious if you step back a little bit from this experience, Janet, what would you say is the biggest lesson you learned from this journey? 

23:47 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
I think that my voice matters, because I was always the shy kid. You know I didn't want to do the current event standing front. I've learned I have a voice. I learned that I could speak up and I learned that I can really be a true advocate, because sometimes, as a true advocate, you just got to make noise. And I say that because one time she had not eaten solid food. So you know, they give those those intravenous thing. 

24:13
All of a sudden I came to visit her Wendy, she's up, she's eating a sandwich for lunch. I was like, ok, I'm happy. Then the orderly came and was like, oh, I got to take her for a test and I'm like, no, she's eating lunch. Well, I have orders. I says I don't care, she's eating her lunch, she's going to finish. When she finishes and it settles, you can come back. And I heard him on the phone, wendy. He was like um, the daughter said I can't take her and he said I'll come back. I said, yeah, I know, cause to me it was like she was just happy sitting up eating her sandwich and I'm like, oh no, nobody's going to disturb this moment. 

24:54 - Wendy Battles (Host)
So yeah, that's powerful. So just doing that just really like yeah, that's a powerful realization that we are more powerful than we think and that we can step up to the plate, like, when those moments come, we're stronger than we think we are. We can do hard things Doesn't mean it's not without like the stress of it, but I think it also teaches us about just how capable we are and we can apply that to other things in our life. 

25:20 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Yeah, and then the second time was when I had to have a conversation with my mother. She decided she was not going to do physical therapy in the home and she decided to just kick out the physical therapist. So I said okay, and I told her. I said you know, you're not going to just sit here and not move a muscle. I want you to be able to have some physical movement. I said so we're going to get another physical therapist. If I have to stand side by side with you and do the movements, I will do that. And you know what. She said Okay, and I realized it wasn't her. It was really the physical therapist. 

25:54
The first one because he would come in. Okay, ms Taylor, we're going to move like this, that. And the other, the second one, would come in, sit down. Hi, ms Taylor, how are you doing? Are you having a good day? Do you have a good week? And then she said she all of a sudden told him she had some sweet potatoes and he's like and then they got into a conversation and he said so now are you ready to for us to start the session? She's like yes, I am. So I realized it was different. But yeah, I had to say look, I love you, mom, but you're not just going to sit here on the sofa. 

26:24 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Absolutely so having to sometimes step in, yeah, just you know. 

26:28 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
so I mean and that's not something I really would have done, because you know mom's mom, it's like right, yeah, exactly Exactly. 

26:35 - Wendy Battles (Host)
But I really appreciate that because that also is advocating for her by saying to her you really need to work on your strength, because no matter how strong or not we are, we can always work on something, even older people that might be in failing health. Right, there's just to work on mobility. And when we just sit there and do nothing, then any of us atrophy. 

26:57
So I really appreciate the approach that you used. Janet and I have a background in organizational change management and part of what we talk about is that when a change is happening, you have to help build desire for it. Right, because people are often resistant. Right, your mom is like, well, I don't want to do that, and part of it seems like it had to do with the person, because this new person came and they established a rapport where she felt comfortable, and that's a whole different story. But I like how you built some desire with her, right, and then you and you also recognize you're like, hmm, well, something's not right, but we're going to keep trying this, so we can always have do-overs. That also is the point I'm getting from this. 

27:34
Even as we're going through the process of doing something new or reinventing ourselves, we often have these do-overs because maybe it doesn't work out the way we expect and there's a lesson to be learned from all of these different variables related to this. You know, our theme for this season of the Reinvention Rebels podcast is something I love how I bet on myself and I never looked back, and I feel like this experience you've had, where you put a hold on your business this established business you have to say I'm going to shift and become a full-time caregiver. What I want to know is what have you learned from this? Because it feels like you bet on yourself that you could just continue when the time presented itself again. What have you learned from this idea of betting on yourself, especially in this caregiver business on hold situation that you experienced Well? 

28:35 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
I did know that I wanted to take care of my mother. So I knew that meant and I did try. Wendy, I tried to do take care of my mom see a client. I even tried to go back to school and I was like I can't. I can't, cause she was always on the back of my mind. So I leaned in full time. Then, once she passed, I took a pause. I didn't go back into it because I was exhausted. There were still things I needed to work out and everything with her estate, and then I gradually came back. But I think what it taught me is it's okay to take a pause, you know, because I think sometimes we feel like, oh gosh, if I take a pause, everything is going to fall apart, and it didn't. Actually. 

29:20
After that moment, that's when things really started taking off for my business. I was on HGTV. A little shortly after that I got government contracts. So it was just a moment where I needed to focus on a priority. But then take a moment once I got finished in that role is to take a break, because I think if I had not taken that break, I would not have been able to receive everything that I actually came after that. So it was just knowing what my priority was Once that role was over, taking a moment to break and then getting back into the grind of things again. And also I had clients that were so understanding. They were so understanding Specifically once they knew she had passed away, and that's another reason asking for help. I asked my best friend. 

30:11 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I said I just need you to call everybody no-transcript yourself, betting on yourself that you know it was right for you, number one, that you made your mom a priority, betting on yourself that everything was going to still be there right Because you enlisted help and you had some boundaries, like. I need to pause now for a little bit and I think what's really interesting to me, janet, is how things unfolded after that, after you took care of yourself and trusted yourself that things were going to work out, how things really blossomed for you. And I think that's such an important lesson for all of us that when we lean in and believe in ourselves, even though the path isn't always clear, even though you know none of us are clear, you know we don't know what's going to happen right. 

31:13 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
We don't know about our future. 

31:15 - Wendy Battles (Host)
It's all a big mystery, the mystery of life, but that it does work out and it does pay right. It pays to bet on ourselves. 

31:24 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
And it really does. I mean, and as I'm, as I'm here, I did that pause and because of my path, I really connected with someone who became a mentor and she was the one who said you know what, janet, you need to actually start a podcast. So there were so many things that happened after that, but it was definitely important and I think sometimes as a caregiver, you don't really understand because you're on automatic, you're focused and you're on automatic. And during my pause I had traveled to spend time with a cousin and I'll never forget this Wendy, she's out in her garden. I'm on the Chase Lounge and she's like. She's like, after I get finished in the garden, we're going to go hang out. I'm going to just do some shopping, that's OK, wendy. It was hours later. I woke up. I had a cover on me. She said I knew you were tired, she said you needed to rest, and I didn't realize how exhausted I was. I was like, wow, so yeah, so the pause was definitely necessary. 

32:25 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Yeah, that's so key and I think that we're used to pushing through, because sometimes that's just what we have to do. Sometimes you don't have a choice, right, you just got to be there. 

32:35 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
You just got to do, you keep, and then, when you're on 24, seven, it's different, very much so it's different, and you're juggling yeah, you're juggling so many things. You're juggling your own emotions and their emotions and everything. So, yeah, but it's possible, it's possible to reinvent yourself at any age, at any stage too. 

32:56 - Wendy Battles (Host)
It's so true, it doesn't really matter how old we are, but, especially as we get older, like, why not? Why wouldn't we be able to do that? 

33:03
And your story is such a great example of I'm reinventing in my 50s and my 60s and it doesn't really matter how old we are and obviously we've all heard stories of women older than us 70s, 80s, right, they continue to reinvent, reimagine, recontextualize, as Carolyn Doling said in our episode, who you know became a model in her 70s. So there's really nothing we can't do. I know, janet, that people listening are like I want to know where I can find this extraordinary woman who not only reinvented but also reinvented in an organized way. Who is you know where? That is your gift. Where can people find you? Follow, you, get to know more about the work that you do. 

33:58 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Well, they can follow me, of course, on Instagram @janettheorganizer. That's where they can follow me on social media, and then, of course, you can just visit my website at JanetMTaylor.com. 

34:04 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love it. Thank you so much for gracing me with your presence, for sharing your wisdom and your story and helping to broaden all of it for all of us. Helping to broaden our thinking about what's possible when we find ourselves in this space of caregiving and how even that we can reinvent. That supports us as well as those we love, in healthy ways. So thank you so much. 

34:33 - Janet Taylor (Guest)
Thank you, Wendy, for the opportunity. This has been an enjoyable conversation. 

34:46 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Janet is so insightful. I am appreciating how she reinvented herself during midlife, taking care of her mother, and what she learned, and it's a reminder that reinvention looks different for each of us, but we can always find our way. We can always figure out what's possible. We can always turn over a new leaf and take that wisdom we have and grow from there, even when we're scared and unsure. And it's a reminder that there are so many different ways that we can reinvent, but all that matters is finding out the right way to reinvent for you and my free gift 100 ways to reinvent in midlife. It's just that. It's ideas and inspiration and possibility all rolled into 100 different ideas to stoke new possibilities for you. All you have to do is click on the link in the show notes to download this freebie. I want to help you get started in launching what's next in vibrant ways that celebrate midlife boldness. 

35:55
And speaking of vibrancy and adventure and new possibilities, I want to take a moment before we go to tell you about a podcast I'm listening to right now. It's by my colleague and friend, adrienne Berg, and she is the host of the Ageless Traveler podcast, which is a great resource for breaking barriers to lifelong travel. Adrienne believes that lifelong travel is a link to lasting friendships and good health, things that are so important for our longevity as we age. If you're open to discovering enticing locations, luxury travel for less, grandparent and solo travel, adventure itineraries, cultural and culinary experiences and meeting people who make travel easy, then you're going to love the Ageless Traveler podcast. Plus her blog and this cool freebie. She has Three Steps to Make Lifelong Travel Easy. All of the details y'all are in the show notes so you can easily click. 

36:57
Please check out this podcast. It's so good and it's very inspiring, and it's a reminder that adventure awaits all of us if we're open to it. Hey, do me one more favor. If you loved this episode as much as I did, would you mind sharing it with a friend? Loved this episode as much as I did, would you mind sharing it with a friend who's that friend of yours? Who's going through a caregiving experience and could benefit from Janet's wisdom? Who is open to new possibilities to reinvent, who's got a curious mind and is ready to explore all the things that come as we navigate midlife and really celebrate stepping into our own? This episode is for that. So thank you so much for sharing this and until next time, keep shining your light. The world needs you and all that you have to offer.