Five Great Careers to Train in Later on in Life

 The world is changing, and so are the needs of employers. As baby boomers retire, many companies look for skilled workers to fill the gaps. Many people have discovered that it's easier than ever before to train in a field they love. Training in a new career can be a great way to reinvent yourself. Here's a list of five great jobs that you can take up later in life.

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Event Planner

If you have an eye for detail and enjoy hosting events, event planning might be a great career to train in. Event planners are needed by companies of all sizes, from small start-ups to large corporations. Event planners use their creative skills and business savvy to plan any event, from weddings to corporate retreats. They must coordinate vendors and resources with guests' needs while staying on budget.

A Miscarriage Memorial, Hashimoto's, and my Husband Got Hit by a Car

Warning: sad post and a little long. I am usually a pretty upbeat person, but sometimes certain things happen in our lives and we need a little time to recover, and they change who we are. We all grieve in our own way. I think it's important to journal and share, if you feel comfortable doing so (originally posted September 23, 2018)

Back in March of 2018, I had a miscarriage. I was 46 years old and excited to be pregnant with my sixth child with my wonderful husband. Our other kids were 8, 10, 13, 14, and 16 at the time. They were also excited, as were our friends, our families, our neighbors. I had waited a couple of weeks after my period to take a pregnancy test because my periods had been irregular about once a year. I just figured this was that once-a-year period that went long. One Friday, I took a pregnancy test and was excited to see my nausea and exhaustion now had a reason!

Wonder Woman and Bravehart; I'm holding baby #6 and he's holding the pregnancy test!

Sadly, the next day I started to bleed, right after the Brookside St. Patrick's Day parade. I wish I had taken a pregnancy test sooner just to have the idea of this child in my mind and heart longer! I'll spare you the heartbreaking details of the next seven days (at least in this post), but I lost the baby.

Three Places in Florida to Visit on Vacation

 

Image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay 

Your vacation is a special time that belongs to you for all of your hard work. You deserve to have a most fantastic time that will allow you to get lots of relaxation and fun. Florida is one of the top three busiest and most eventful states for vacation, and these are three places in Florida where you can have an absolute blast:

Key West

Key West is one of the most gorgeous places to visit if you have the budget for it. You'll be surrounded by palm trees, friendly people, and plenty of things to do. Duval Street has an array of shopping locations, restaurants, bike rental shops and more. You can't go wrong if you visit Key West. 

What Does Success Mean to You? #Lent2022

 

I highly recommend the book "Maid" by Stephanie Land and the Netflix show that goes along with it.

I've only seen the first episode of the show, which prompted me to grab the book first, and they are pretty different, as is normal with books/movies.

Here's one line from the book that stood out, referring to her clients with huge homes for just two occupants, wasted food, expensive furniture that rarely gets used, and "Prescription pills littered the bathroom countertops and the medicine cabinets of most of the houses I cleaned... Maybe the stress of keeping up a two-story house, a bad marriage, and maintaining the illusion of grandeur overwhelmed their systems in similar ways to how poverty did mine."

This got me thinking.

As I drove the kids to a homeschool dance last night, I saw a couple of gorgeous, new, large homes on 143rd Street between Kenneth and Mission Roads. They were lit so perfectly with small spotlights, and one even had a bridge that you had to drive over to get to the home. I used to covet homes like that when I was younger; now I just think of how much time or money it would take to keep it clean and maintained.

When I'm working to make money *for* my family, it usually entails taking time *from* them, often for things we don't necessarily need. Last night I was grateful that I was able to drop some kids at the dance while others were content at home with other friends, a movie, books, homework. I was able to sit at McDonald's and work, which was good for my brain and for our family finances.

So many people think that being successful means having a cool car, a large home, nice clothes, a job with clout (doctor, lawyer, best-selling author, engineer, CEO), among other things. What does success mean to you? Having the car, clothes, home, job, as well as all the books, all the art, the biggest television, the newest furniture, fancy foods and drinks, and more?

This Lent, I'm really trying to inspect what success means to me and how I treat money, time, people. For me, Lent then should continue in that we take with us the lessons we learned each year on our Lenten journey. You, of course, don't have to be religious to do this :-)

I think it's important to read books like Maid and Nickel and Dimed (I'd love your suggestions as well!) to think about people and situations outside of ourselves, to be more compassionate, and to be more grateful for what we have.

Faith, Family, Finances

*Conversely, where do you think the "bad marriage" concept comes from? From one or both working so much that they are too tired for or don't have time for any meaningful connection? From having their priorities possibly out of whack? Instant gratification extending into unrealistic expectations from their partner?

Components of a Historically Accurate Reenactment

Image by David Mark from Pixabay 

 It can be difficult to learn about history in a stuffy classroom while reading from a boring textbook. Historical reenactments are a fun way to engage with history that provide opportunities to interact in a hands-on way. Reenactments don't have to be completely accurate, but certain aspects can help to set the mood for your event. There are a few things that you may want to keep in mind as you plan your reenactment.

Costumes

Apparel is perhaps one of the most important parts of a historical reenactment. They can help your actors jump into character and visually see certain aspects of a story (telling apart cowboys from native Americans by their western costumes Fort Worth TX). A costume made with fabric that is accurate to the time period can help add to the accuracy as well. This allows your actors to quite literally step into the shoes of the people they are representing.