Suzanne Scheer is back on Go Long, this time to talk about her mom.

Suzanne was an only child who became a caregiver at 33. Her parents passed five weeks apart. Through all of it, she leaned on the one lesson her mother made a priority: you can cope with anything. You don't have a choice. You keep going.

We talk about the mother who never learned to drive and filled her days with needlepoint, sewing, and cooking. The woman who lost her own mother young, stepped in to raise her siblings, and kept her mother's recipes alive so well that her brothers and sisters would tear up at the smell. And the mom who always paid the bills, which shaped Suzanne's belief that no woman should be in the dark about her own finances.

In this episode: why coping skills may be the most important thing we pass on to our kids; the patience Suzanne learned from a mom who couldn't just hop in the car; what her mother carried that nobody acknowledged; why scent hits so hard (and an unexpected Tampa airport flashback); how caregiving support has changed — geriatric care managers, daily money managers, dementia coaches, and friends who check in; the 63 million unpaid caregivers who report feeling alone; why showing up for someone in a hard moment matters more than you think; what Suzanne is unlearning: putting everyone else first; and how seeing women blindsided by finances in family law drove her career pivot to long-term care planning.

Favorite moment: Suzanne's mom's needlepoint sign. "For sale. One husband. Cheap." Dollar sign included.

More about Suzanne:

• LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannescheer/

• Website — https://www.sgsinsurance.net/

• Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/suzannescheer_jd_cltc/

• Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550129835644

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• Learn more about Go Long — https://www.golong.me/how-it-works

• Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/justgolong/

• Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/justgolong

• LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/company/go-long/

Jump to:

00:05 Navigating Healthcare and Maternal Influence

02:38 The Impact of Caregiving on Career Choices

05:00 Lessons in Coping and Resilience

08:05 The Importance of Asking for Help

10:21 The Role of Community and Support

12:44 The Power of Small Acts of Kindness

15:05 Parenting and Passing Down Values

15:11 The Art of Needlepoint and Family Humor

17:29 Financial Independence and Empowerment