How lucky we are!

When we were in St. Lucia we met a plucky German lady from Berlin.  She is 55 years old.  She has a career that she is passionate about, but she and her colleagues are harassed because of their age.  She would like a second career but says that in Germany you are old after 40, and women can forget about making a second career.  No one would hire them, even if they went back to school for another degree.

In Rome we chatted with 2 tables of people sitting next to us in a restaurant.  One couple from Denmark and one from Norway.  They also were of a certain age. They couldn't change jobs either.  They were just hoping to hold their positions until they could retire- mandatory at 65.

As I watch the blonde dye in my hair give way to the grey that has been accumulating faster than I realized, and notice the deeper laugh lines on my face in the photos Jeff takes, and remember that my 50th is this year...I think about my plans for when we get back to the US.  How lucky we are in the US, no matter how bad the economy, and in spite of the less obvious age discrimination in the job market, we believe that we have the choice to make changes in our careers.  Newspapers praise the baby boomers for planning for a second career!  Classes are taught on how to change careers!  How to remake your life!  The stuff bestsellers are made of.

So I plan to make 50 fabulous and am thankful that I have the opportunity!

Blue skies!