I can’t remember everything that she said, but I remember how she made me feel and I knew that I wanted to see her again.
As I picked my way through the busy lunchtime crowd at Tasha’s I was reminded of what it is to be a woman in South Africa (well… everywhere I guess?). I could feel the eyes of certain men following me to my table; they think we don’t know that they’re watching, but we do – and we don’t like it. As it is, I’m already feeling anxious. At least I’m on time.
My new business is floating in debt – which I understand is GOOD debt – but still, it’s highly stressful. I only have a few hours during the day without the constant engagement of my kids before I pick them up from school and my mind will no longer focus on work. All of their friends are collected by au pairs, but I am trying really hard not to go there. It’s important to my husband and I to be present for our kids – but that’s a tradeoff for work hours in a young business. He hates his job and can’t wait to join me in mine – if we can make it work.
I have clients I could be meeting with right now – or even sitting at my home-office-nook working on the next stages of my business growth. But I’ve decided to bite the bullet and commit to this lunch. I’m so glad that she’s here before me, her smile immediately tells me that she’s done her homework too and found me online – there’s no other way that she would know what I look like. It’s how I know who I’m looking for.
The waiting chair feels like a safe place already – safe from the gazers, and maybe even a safe place from my daily worries, for now.
My apple, pineapple and ginger juice is the perfect option to settle my stomach – I’m tired of coffee at every meeting. It was her suggestion – and it was a good suggestion. We’ve barely had a conversation and already I’m feeling refreshed.
Like I said, I can’t remember everything that she said, but I remember how she made me feel. It’s not at all what I was expecting; I thought we would talk about how much I’m earning (or NOT EARNING lol…), what my plan for retirement is and how much cover I have. Because, that’s what I’ve been told financial advisors talk about at these meetings. And, honestly, I have no idea how to answer those questions.
Instead, we talked about our kids (hers and mine!). We talked about the pressures of school and extra-murals. She recommended that I consider treating myself to a spa day every few months – maybe take my husband along too. She took the time to ask me some great questions that were about me and not my money, and she listened. She REALLY listened.
We talked about life. We connected.
She asked me to think about whether or not I’d like to become a client and that our next meeting would have a consulting fee attached, and she outlined what that would look like. Again, I can’t really remember the finer details – but already I feel like I would pay just to have her input in my life. I have some big decisions ahead and I know that she would help both my husband and me work them out.
Come to think of it, when I Googled her and found her website – I already knew that she might be different… more ‘real’. Maybe that’s why I committed to lunch.
All I know now is that I want to see her again.
