calmkate

Flora

Flora was fit but on the wrong side of 40. Reared in the western suburbs she became a mother at 16. After impregnating her for the third time her disenchanted husband traded her in for a younger male model.

Raising three with no supports or child endowment was a challenge. One she failed at miserably when her eldest overdosed just shy of 16. Enabling her ex could to win custody of the younger children. Which left her feeling abandoned and wondering what came next.

Having heard that the university had a quota for mature aged students she felt it was an opportunity to become a counselor to offer assistance to other teens wandering off the straight and narrow. Using Rory’s death as a motivator she also started giving public talks to warn youngsters of the pitfalls while raising funds to set up a drug rehab clinic.

Ambitious but she saw a gap in the system and stepped up. She had the time and the motivation, now to gain the skills and the contacts. After struggling at school she conscientiously completed her uni research and assignments well ahead of the schedule in order to review and rewrite. Nothing was left to chance. 

With only weekend access to her children Flora had plenty of time to focus on and fine-tune her literally skills. Something she had never given thought to previously. She wasn’t up for tutoring but found she could earn a bit editing others assignments as she found her talent.

She networked through the uni and connected with medical personnel who saw merit in her local rehab clinic idea. They had more power and the idea gathered support in numerous ways. A house was purchased and that ambition came to realization before graduation. 

As her confidence grew her ex learnt to trust her more with the younger two. So parenting came more into the mix in her final year. She astounded herself rising above all her obstacles to excel in her studies and be offered a tutoring job at the uni.  

But academia was never her dream. Helping those like her eldest was her real passion. She counseled at the clinic while fund raising and managed to purchase a second house for another clinic in another troubled suburb. Now she dreamt of a chain of rehab centres to support troubled souls. And as her dreams came to fruition she attracted more funding, more useful connections and knew she’d found her calling.

Her graduation ceremony became a celebration in more ways than one. And Flora had grown to accept her ex’s choice, noting that his partner made him happy. Three parents were better than one!

And she knew that her younger ones would never be tempted to try drugs. The clinics bore their surname, a fitting tribute to Rory.

And so another phoenix arose from the ashes. Every obstacle is an opportunity to learn and grow, so don’t miss your next chance.

Writing prompt: develop a character and share a slice of their life in less than 500 words

25 comments

  1. A true inspiring story Kate. Recently I read about a couple of women who made extraordinary choices but at the end they are happy with what they are doing. Such stories must be shared.

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    • now it would be here too, govt control the very few clinics we have … must be making too much profit from their ‘addictions’ so not interest in ‘curing’ them … this happened ages ago 😦

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  14. Flora’s beginning was the story of so many in this world, she found the strength to rise above and grow from the lowest point. These are beautiful life stories, as I truly believe it’s never too late to find our dreams or discover a new one. Beautiful and empowering story Kate my dear! 🤗 ❤️ 😊

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  16. This is a sad story with a happy ending. I wonder if the other Floras out in the world will gain the confidence to go after their dreams and then once they catch them, make them visible to the world….

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  17. This is a sad story with a happy ending. I wonder if the other Floras out in the world will gain the confidence to go after their dreams and then once they catch them, make them visible to the world….

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. Thank you for creating and sharing Flora with us! Such an inspiring, joy-bringing story, SweetKate! I’ve known some Floras and they are amazing!
    Your last two sentences “…another phoenix arose from the ashes. Every obstacle is an opportunity to learn and grow, so don’t miss your next chance.” Do you mind if I print that out and put it on my computer where I can read it every morning?!
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

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