Today, Heidi from Heidi'sbooks and I are having a blog swap. She shares some of her thoughts about a transition she's approaching on Transitional-Woman, and I'm reviewing The Chosen on her blog.
Last year I read an article in Forbes Magazine listing the
top women executives. It was a fascinating article showing where each woman
worked, how much money she made, and what assets she controlled. It also told
each woman’s age. All of them were in the 48-60 age group.
I’m approaching that age group and also headed for a major
transition in life. How is it that you can work yourself out of a job in 20
years? You see, I’ve homeschooled for 18 years, organized co-ops, lead 4H
groups, planned community service projects, lead support groups, edited
newsletters, etc. In a few short years all my students will have graduated, and
I will face the empty nest (sort of)—and in the process lose my full time job.
When I think of all the possibilities, I get giddy with
excitement.
As I look around my church at what the other ladies in my
age group are doing, I realize that most of them are working full-time jobs. Most
are doing jobs they enjoy. Some work long hours, commute, and arrive home late
at night. Saturdays are filled with laundry and catching up on everything that
gets pushed aside during the week. Kudos to them. They work hard, and
are salt and light in their workplaces. But they have relatively little time
for community outreach, ministry, or helping others in the church.
What if I chose a different path? What if I used all my past
experience to work for the church and community just like the business woman
moves up the corporate ladder? I could continue down the same path moving into
an expanded position. What if a group of the first wave of
homeschool-mom-retirees put their experience to work in the community and
church? That’s a tour de force
volunteer army. I think we could see a fundamental shift in our society.
What needs are not getting met in our communities? How many
elderly have visitors at the nursing home? I don’t even know most of my
neighbors, and church visitation has become a thing of the past. How are the
older women teaching or helping the younger women? There are so many needs and
people are going it alone. Maybe it’s time to bring back that sense of
community.
I would like to wear a business suit and carry a briefcase,
but maybe it’s time to blaze a new trail.
Heidi from
Heidi'sbooks is a homeschool mom with five children who loves reading and talking about books. For the past few months, she's been diving into the great Russian authors. Whew!
