My Career, Redux
I couldn't have been happier if I'd won a Pulitzer Prize. The state traffic safety foundation gave me an award for articles I wrote about a neighborhood organizing to have stop signs and speed bumps installed after a child was killed by a speeder.
I was fortunate to get my job back at the newspaper last year after my youngest daughter started her senior year in high school. I worked at the paper when Bill and I were first married and quit when our first daughter was born.
It wasn't easy to get back in the routine. Most of the reporters are so much younger and more aggressive. But, I had a lot of established community contacts in the schools as a result of my activities while my daughters were growing up. Still, I had to prove myself to the editors. Most of the people I knew on the staff had moved or retired. I convinced the editors that, as an active parent, I knew the community and who to contact to get a story.
It has required some adjustments for Bill and our daughter, Tiffany. Frequently I have to go out in the evening to cover meetings, or work late finishing an article. I think Bill and Tiffany understand how important getting back to work has been for me. I loved being home and I wouldn't have traded rearing our daughters for anything, but now I'm ready for my time and my accomplishments.
Have you resumed a career that was interrupted by a marriage and family? Was it easy to return to the workaday world? What challenges have you overcome? Has your family made adaptations?
The above stories are composites developed from ThirdAgers' thoughts about important midlife issues. We often see these concerns and emotions expressed in online forums and chats, focus groups, advisory panels, and interviews. We'd like you to contribute, anonymously or not, your stories for possible inclusion in future Heartbeats.
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