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From marketing director to Uber Eats delivery: Single mom shares what ‘real reset’ at 45 looks like after job loss
The woman revealed that she has been delivering Uber Eats while looking for work after losing her previous role.
A 45-year-old woman in the Netherlands has struck a chord online after sharing how her life changed from leading boardroom meetings as a marketing director to delivering Uber Eats orders on an e-bike while searching for a new job.
Camila Valim, who runs the Instagram page Joy in Organizing, shared a video documenting a typical shift as an Uber Eats delivery partner. In the caption, she explained that she wanted to show people what a "real reset" looks like. "I'm sharing this because I think we need to see more of what a real reset actually looks like, not the vision board version, the actual one," she wrote in the caption of the post.
Valim revealed that she has been delivering Uber Eats while looking for work after losing her previous role. "As a single parent and sole provider, this is what the 'in-between' looks like for me right now," she said.
The 45-year-old said that while her platform, Joy in Organizing, has always focused on "the inside work first," her own life is currently going through "a massive reorganization". "I'm showing up for every single day with a smile (sometimes tears too) and a HUGE delivery bag on my back," she wrote.
Alongside the caption, Valim shared a video, giving her followers a glimpse into her Uber Eats shift. The video begins with text reading, "From marketing director & boardroom meetings to ringing doorbells & delivering meals. Not the version of 45 I had in mind."
Valim then documents her evening shift in chronological order. At 4 pm, she starts work and waits for her first order. During the shift, she completes 6 deliveries on her e-bike, with the video showing her picking up meals from different restaurants, waiting for orders and cycling across the city. At one point, she also suffers a painful scrape on her ankle.
She completes her final order shortly after 7 pm, and ends the shift at around 7:23 pm. Smiling into the camera, she jokes that she received a free chicken tender, calling it her "employee bonus."
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Watch the video below:
Reflecting on her journey, Valim admitted the situation was not what she had imagined for herself. "This isn't where I thought I'd be. But maybe it's exactly where I need to be at 45," she wrote in the caption of the post.
She also shared the message that has helped her navigate this difficult phase. "Because the same thing I tell you about your home is true about life: sometimes things have to get uncomfortable before they get better. You don't always get to choose the in-between. You do get to choose how you show up in it," she wrote.
She concluded by saying, "Right now, this is one of the ways I'm rebuilding our life."
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Social media reactions
Social media users praised Valim for openly documenting a challenging chapter of her life.
One user wrote, "our hard work will be coming back to you in millions of times better."
"You rock! Showing up and being open about it, you are an example!" commented another.
"The fact that you're still showing up and working says a lot about your strength," wrote a third user.
"Thanks for sharing, you do what is needed, the good and the more challenging moments. You got this you are doing it the wins are just around the corner," said another.
"Did Uber too for half a year as a single mom. And sometimes it was tough, but most of the times driving helped me clear my head and it was just me and the car, no responsibility, no stress (apart from that anxious ping you would get from the app when the order would come through). Mothers are the strongest, most skilled employees and yet talent is wasted on jobs like uber because we still do not recognise caregiving as a full time job and adjust around it. We need more job options that work around the most important job on the planet," shared one user.
