We Send You On With Love and Gratitude

It has taken my until today to be able to post this.

September 1, 2011, my father, Robert B. Bailey, was finally released from the 88 year old frame that had come to be his shackle. He is free again to fly.

Dad's release was peaceful and painless after a day spent joking with his family. We should all be so lucky. He is loved and his wisdom and counsel will be missed, but he owes us nothing. The debt is ours for all his has done for us. Our only chance to repay him is to pass on what he taught us and to do good when we can. Thank you for everything, Dad. We love you.

Ah Ravioli

Got a phone call from my dad in Tucson -- with my brother's help

Dad hasn't been able to talk on the phone for some time. It is a little too abstract for him at this point on most days. But not this time. This time he was alert, he was funny and he knew I was me. He was up to date about my new job, had glib retorts after hearing we recently had 25 wild turkeys in our yard, etc. It was a full out conversation.Things haven't been looking too good for Dad of late, so this was a treat and a treasure.

He signed off with his classic bastardization of au revoir -- "Ah-ravioli!"

Ah-ravioli, Dad. Ah ravioli.

You Kids Knock It Off Or We'll Go Right Back Home!!

My husband has gained a whole new appreciation for parenting. Until April, he had a very romantic notion of what it is like to raise a puppy. In the last 3 months, though, he's come to see that it is a LOT like parenting. It has also given him a new respect for parents of young children and for what his own folks dealt with.

Sunday was the first time we tried to take our two dogs, and our nephew-dog out by car to the town's new dog park.

Wrangling them into the car was the first challenge. We had to make Harley sit in the middle to break up Lexi and Duncan. And, of course, like the littlest kid she is, Lexi kept standing up and trying to weasel her way into the front seat, while the boys sat nicely in their seats.

The walk from the car to the dog park posed its own problems. These three could practically braid leashes the way they wove in and out of each other. But the park, seemed to be a hit. They met lots of new dogs. And they got lots of human attention since they were 3 look-alikes. Duncan, as usual, flirted shamelessly with various bevies of teenage girls.

The best part -- once we got them all home again, they crashed! Peace at last.

Boston Chic

Inspired by an article on CNN about Boston style, which was, in turn, inspired by a bespoke blog called Beyond Boston Chic, I thought I'd show that our own favorite Bostonian (specifically Cambridgeite) Grad student is respectably representin'.

I think it's the Dior sunglasses (found on the Metro in Montreal, if I recall correctly) that really sew up the look. Then again it might be the smile of contentment at being exactly where she wants to be. Either way, it's my new favorite picture of The Girl.

Weird Twist of Fate

So a little over a month ago -- we adopted a 16 week old puppy who we named, Lexi. I thought, "hey -- this will work, I'm home all day, I can train her." -- but within a week of bringing her home, my little world turned oddly upside down.

I got a call from a temp agency. I never applied with them so I don't know how they got my resume, but they had a long-term temp position for which they thought I was an excellent fit. Turns out they were right -- it was m OLD JOB!! OK, several of us had the same function and "one of us" was going out on maternity leave.

When they told the hiring manger they'd found someone, then told her my name, she was like -- OMG!! Get her in here tomorrow! Of course that begs the question of why she didn't think of me herself, but no matter. I was the right person at the right time so they brought me on to cover a maternity leave.

I signed on on 5/9 and have been having the best time ever since. This version of the job has all the things I liked about the work, with nothing that I didn't like. I get up every morning and head off to work with a smile on my face. It's really nice.

At this point, I try not to focus on the fact that the temp pay is 30% less than what I made when I left the job. Welcome to the new normal.

My advice for all my friends in a long term job search -- get a puppy! Your phone will ring immediately!

POST SCRIPT: A few weeks later, while I was enjoying the temp job, I got offered a great, "real" job. The whole get-a-puppy, get-a-job thing really played out! I start at ING 8/1/11! Two years and 2 weeks post layoff. It was quite an experience.

Never Give Up

As a woman of a "certain age," I find myself at a place in life I never expected to be at this point -- lacking full time work. It is small comfort to know that I have plenty of company. Reports are that the unemployment rate of older workers is notably higher than mid-career people. It's also apparent that the longer older people remain unemployed, the less likely it becomes that they will ever return to the workplace, let alone to a job comparable to those they've held in the past.

The question is, what can one do about it? On the face of it -- not much. Mature workers who believe they were dismissed because of their age, have the weight of the law on their side and can fight the firing. But there is no such option for workers who are not getting hired because of their age. No law says you have to hire a more experienced person. Everybody knows, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." That is a myth, of course, but myths have powerful mojo and are tough to overcome.

So, while all this is true for my peer group, it remains up to me whether I stay with the pack or break out and make my own fortune. I have a long-held belief that one cannot make anyone else responsible for one's happiness. I think something similar applies to work. I need to make my own future, no one else is responsible for that.

Guess I'd better get to it!