On Starting a 2nd-Half Career

With retirement approaching (I'll be 65 in April), I know I need a second-half career, and I know I don't want to continue in the work-a-day world I have been in for the last 45 years.  I have always been in secretarial/admin/office work, since my first job right out of high school in 1972.  But, it's never been more than just a job, and I have always longed to work for myself.  I love to type; yes, I love to type.  I have excellent grammar and communication skills, and this seems to be the perfect fit for me.

Actually, I have been following Janet Shaughnessy's blog, Transcribe Anywhere, for two years now, waiting for the chance to jump in--waiting for the courage to jump in.  I believe time has forced me to take this leap, so now, yes, I am excited but also a little trepidatious.  I know I cannot go on working the way I have in the corporate world, yet I cannot afford to retire on social security alone.  My goal is to take her course and to hone my skills and expertise before I actually depart my day job, and to hopefully have a  client or two by then, even if they pay meager wages to being with.  I will consider this my apprenticeship.  Internship and exposure are invaluable.

So, as soon as I get my taxes back this year, I will be finally purchasing Janet's course and delving in.  That gives me a year to establish myself as a professional transcriptionist and ultimately make that transition from office worker to self-employed home worker.  

Wish me luck and success!  66 will be the first day of my new career. 

Sorting and Filing

I have so many boxes of papers and old photos in my bedroom alone, I am trying to go through them one by one, tossing items no longer needed, refiling important documents, archiving photos for later scrapbook pages.  I have found papers, bills, documents 10, 20, 30 years old in those boxes.  Most of them I routinely trashed; safely stored many others.

There were many good memories like trips with my children to Lion Country Safari in Florida and my oldest son's Kindergarten graduation folder, letters from my aunt, and old newspaper clippings.  But some were bittersweet, like the photo of the car my now ex-husband and I bought together, and our wedding invitation.  I stared at that one for a little while; I re-read it.  My most prominent thought was simply, "what a shame."  Just what a shame.  So much blessing, so much promise, so much hope, and gone.  I didn't cry, but I couldn't find it in me to toss it out either.  So I scanned and filed it in old memories.  Maybe I'll never look at it again, but still it is and was part of me and of our family, and I can't just throw that away, even though he did.  

Fast Forward 30 Years

Today, the doors of college open to me again for the first time since 1979. Perhaps not your typical student, this new season of my life finds me returning to college after 30 years to finish my education. I guess you could say it was on my “bucket list.” My goal is to obtain a degree in psychology with a concentration in Christian counseling, as I have deep desire to more effectively counsel hurting women, borne perhaps from my own life experience, growth, and recovery.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to study on-line as a distance education student, something not available to me as a young person, even had I had the direction and focus to pursue a degree through completion. I will be attending Liberty University, the largest and fastest growing Christian Evangelical university in the world, founded by the late Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr.

I am studying Introduction to Christian Thought and Development Psychology.

Your Kingdom for a Gallon of Gas

Most of you who know me know that I am only in my early-50's. I've worked hard to get here, and I am glad to be the age that I am. It comes with certain scars, but also with some degree of wisdom, experience, and grace borne simply from having maneuvered the seasons of my life thus far.

That being said, I am not anxious to rapidly advance in age; time moves all too quickly as it is. I'll patiently work with it and wait it out, even though there are still some perks ahead it seems. Well, I've already joined AARP, as its qualifying age was lowered to 50 many years ago, and one need not even be retired to join. Some restaurants offer senior discounts, most of which start at age 55 or 60, so this looms in my not-so-far-off future.

Many grocery stores, too, offer senior discounts. Kroger, for instance, offers seniors age 60 or older a 5% discount off their grocery bills every Wednesday. No ID required; no verification requested. None of the red tape in which I would assume one becomes entangled when applying for, say, Medicare. A happy event to be afforded an additional 5% off your grocery bill . . . unless you are without question or the raising of an eyebrow mistaken for 60.

Needless to say, I was a bit taken aback when I saw the senior discount ring up on my register receipt this morning. I am so far from 60! I didn't know whether to be insulted or grateful for the additional $4.14 discount. Obviously, the young man behind the register must have granted the discount to my husband who accompanied me on the shopping trip, and not to myself, for I have been told I don't look a day over 45.

Yes, I estimated, the discount was for my poor dh (who is 2 years my junior); he is surely the one who looks 60. I, therefore, accepted it without comment and with the poise of a barely early-50's woman. And although dh didn't mind the affront too much, he likened the aging of humanity to save a dollar to the trading one's kingdom for a gallon of gas!

Have a blessed day!

A Red Hat & A Purple Dress

"What gives with a red hat and a purple dress?" my uncle asked me a few days ago in response to a recent email. I had referred to the possibility of my someday writing a blog, once I got a red hat a purple dress. Apparently, he had not yet heard of the Red Hat Society.

I sent him this link:

http://redhatsociety.com/info/howitstarted.html

and hoped he would read all about it. Surely he would get the joke. After all, I was certainly not a candidate for the Red Hats. Or was I?

As a matter of fact, I have been getting advertisements from AARP for a good 15 years now, and am about to find myself an empty-nester, come September when my youngest heads for college. Indeed, they have only one basic rule: that is, one must be a woman of 50 or over. Well, I've reached that milestone, but I certainly don't feel like a woman of 50 (or over *grin*), at least not emotionally. Maybe I could slide in with a pink hat instead (women under 50), like my girlfriend, Kim.

Some of my classmates celebrated our 35th high school reunion this past June (I didn't attend; in fact, I haven't attended a single high school reunion). My dh and I just just recently celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary in May by watching "Law and Order," eating ice cream, and going to bed at the wee hour of midnight. My eldest son will be 24 in November, and I can now order off the "senior" menu in some restaurants, although I doubt I'll ever do that, even to save a dollar.

It seems the years are adding up though, doesn't it? So why don't I feel 50-something? Could it be because I am stuck in time somewhere, never having grown out of some childhood trauma or misadventure of my youth? Does one require certain experiences that I have never enjoyed in order to feel as though they have earned the age of 50?

Perhaps I simply need to change my mindset: when I was young, 50 seemed so old, and in fact, 50 used to be older than it is today. Think about it. The median age of grandparents in this country is 57. My grandmother was 75 when I was 18! We in our early-50's are the tale-end of the baby-boomers. The world seems to be at our feet. Advertising is aimed at us for everything from health care and wellness to insurance and travel. We are a large portion of the population, and according to recent statistics, senior citizen population will grow faster than all others in all 50 states by the year 2030. Wow! No wonder "they" are all trying to get our money. The upside is much of it is geared toward helping us to look young, feel young, and stay young.

I have heard the old adage, "you're only as old as you feel." And since we choose our own feelings, I will choose to feel young, even at 50. Is it okay, after all, to "not feel 50."

Not only must I change my mindset, but also the words that come out of my mouth. Negative words ("I feel so old.") reap aches, pains, and curses. Praise and positive words reap strength and blessing:

1. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
................................................Psalm 103:1-5

So, here I am: 53 years young, and writing my first blog. I wouldn't go back for anything, although I have learned, grown, changed, and suffered a lot. I have also gained so much more. As my aforementioned friend Kim says, "I wouldn't trade my ____ years' worth of wisdom for anything."

But, I'll not yet buy a red hat and a purple dress. Not even a pink one.

Have a blessed day!