Writing in a Vacuum

Blogging is a curious type of writing because if one is serious about writing we try to post daily if possible yet seldom do we hear back on what impact, if any, our words have meant to the readers.

       You may be asking yourself, “why does she write”?  I ask myself that too.  Partly it is my life long love of words, of reading, and of composing my own stories.  But a big part of blogging is getting out messages to those who might be interested in the variety of topics that comes to the mind of this middle aged woman.  Granted I can swing from topic to topic (preferably not in the same article) but after all, isn’t that how we have our conversations?  During a conversation with a friend we can talk about the weather, our family, our colleagues, the state of the country, retirement, how much our back hurts, when was the last time we remembered an actor’s name within 30 seconds of having lost it (painfully a long time ago), vacation spots, varicose veins, NYC, the Good Wife, why are we still working, is it good for women to work into their 50’s, if they have kids, if they have elderly parents, career vs working stiff.  The list goes on.

       Some critical conversations I’ve had over the years with my girlfriends is what do women really want out of life?  For many of my generation we got mixed messages from our parents.  On the one hand they wanted us to graduate from high school and then go to university, preferably to go on to a professional career.  But at the same time they also expected us to be a good wife and mother (in other words, to get married).  My generation was the first generation that really tried to juggle both, with mixed results.

       Approaching 60 I can say that I look forward to not having to work and I now hope to do all the things I have had to put aside while I have been working to make a living these last 40 years.  But is that any way to really live one’s life, to have to put our passions aside in order to cope with earning a livelihood?  In the 21^st century I hope that women (and men too) can make it happen where they can meld their careers and their passions together and really enjoy life to the full.

       Good luck in figuring it out.