Laura Marlowe is clear about one thing: “My life is full,” she says, emphatically.
In addition to being a Wellness Champion, Marlowe holds three jobs: Full-time office specialist for Ontario County Jail, and rehabilitation counselor and barista two days a week each. In her spare time, she juggles school, hobbies, outdoor activities and takes care of her many pets — three dogs, two cats, saltwater fish, a chinchilla and a horse. She is also the mother of three adult children — Adam, 24; Shannon, 23; and Emma, 19 — and grandma to a baby boy.
“It may seem crazy and overwhelming to some … but it works for me,” Marlowe says.
One might say Marlowe has put the wheel in motion to make her life’s aspirations come true.
“I want to make sure I am healthy and fit and prepared to be there for my first grandson and any other grandchildren I may have in the future,” Marlowe says. “And I want to live out the rest of my productive days doing what I love most.”
To manage her busy schedule in a way that feels healthy and productive, Marlowe uses a tool she stumbled across in her counseling studies. It’s called a wellness wheel, and it serves as a type of visual road map that arranges categories around a hub.
Marlowe’s version has six interconnected categories. Here she shares how she fulfills each category and finds balance between her time at work and home.
Activity comes naturally in Marlowe’s work and home life. As a barista, she is constantly on her feet and always picking up and carrying heavy boxes. In her counseling position, she engages with her clients through physical activity at the facility’s gym. At Ontario County Jail, she walks regularly, participates in wellness challenges and encourages staff to join her. At home, she enjoys summer water sports, especially paddling, and what she calls a “full range of winter sports.”
For Marlowe, financial wellness provides peace of mind. She works on a daily budget to manage bills, save money and provide for two vacations each year that keep her emotionally balanced.
Marlowe says she is too busy to have time to worry about the small stuff. However, her schedule requires her to be very structured in balancing her work and home life to help her avoid unnecessary stress. “My most important tool for healthy emotions is to have a good friend or family member to talk to,” she says.
This aspect of the wellness wheel is very personal for Marlowe, but she is comfortable that she’s explored her spirituality and what that spirituality means to her.
“My calling is to have a direct association with people in need,” Marlowe says.
To fulfill this calling, Marlowe returned to school in 2009 to pursue training in counseling. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is in the final phase of earning a master’s in clinical mental health counseling. Additionally, her intellectual pursuits are tied to her financial well-being, as she plans to use counseling as her retirement job.
Being a Wellness Champion requires Marlowe to embrace that role at work, but she also emphasizes how fortunate she is to have great co-workers.
At home, Marlowe says she is gifted with an amazingly huge and loving family. Sharing activities such as white water rafting, bowling and holiday get-togethers are a regular part of her family interactions.
