We have a new hero and her name is Kym Wootton. Kym, who posts on TikTok under the handle @kymmersfullofsunshine, recently shared that after years of working full time and being a mom, she was embarking on a midlife gap year. For those who might not be familiar with the concept, a gap year is usually associated with teenagers who decide to take a year off between high school and college to travel, volunteer, or just give themselves a breather before they jump from one grind to the next. Sounds pretty amazing, right?
But as we listen to Kym start to describe her reason for doing the gap year and what she's hoping to accomplish, we can't help but think gap years have been wasted on the young! How did it become normalized for 18-year-olds to get to have a year of living life at a slower pace and to spend some time thinking about what their next step in life should be but moms who have been in the thick of caregiving and working and managing the household are expected to wait until retirement to get a break? That makes no sense and is part of the reason we are so keen to follow Kym's journey over the next year.
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Kym's reasons for wanting to take a gap year are so relatable.
Kym, who lives in Colorado, shared that she thinks it's crazy that "once we start working, we start our careers, that's it. We just work. We grind until we are in our late 60s," she shared.
Although we look forward to retirement, for those who are in middle age, that can be decades away! The risk for burn out before then can be real, especially for women like Kym who was working in a job that was "increasingly feeling like it wasn't a good fit."
So Kym made the decision to quit her job and not rush right into finding another one. Instead she's going to take up to a year to live life at a slower pace. That honestly sounds like heaven!
A gap year isn't just a year of doing nothing.
Kym acknowledges both her good fortune to be able to do this and that one of the things she wants to do is to slow down and experience life at a more mellow pace. Given that research shows that women are experiencing higher levels of stress and burnout than men, she likely isn't alone in wanting to slow down. But slowing down doesn't mean stopping because she also clarifies that a gap year isn't just a year of eating bon bons.
(Side note: Has any mother ever really sat on the couch eating bon bons? Where did that stereotype even come from? And does anyone actually know what a bon bon is?)
Kym plans to use her gap year to pursue her longtime dream of becoming an author, so she's committing to a daily writing habit and taking the time to explore her creative side.
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Kym has gotten some negative attention over her gap year.
Even though we are super into the midlife gap year concept, Kym has already had to deal with some detractors. She was interviewed for an article that was supposed to be about her year of creativity and personal growth, but instead she had to deal with the frustration of having her life turned into clickbait.
A British tabloid claimed that she was using the year to ditch her family, travel, and go on boozy weekends (and Kym doesn't even drink!). Not only is this annoying for Kym, but it's also just a reminder that people can feel way too comfortable coming for a mom if she chooses to actually take care of herself first.
Now Kym is inspiring others.
Thankfully, Kym got the chance to tell her own story both on her TikTok and in a recent feature on Good Morning America. She's shared that since her story has started going viral, she's heard from scores of other women who are inspired by her example and trying to figure out if they can make a gap year happen for themselves too.
Not going to lie — we kind of want to add our names to that list!
