To be or not to be...

Great question! As I have gotten older my priorities have changed quite a bit. Through my mid-life , yes, I pushed past limitations that were very challenging. But, now not so much, which brings up that very saying " to be or not to be". Maybe our identity is not so important when we have started slowing down, and I have been aware of that loss of "identity". It is not very important anymore. Also the challenges I face now are mainly to do with much simpler "problems" to fix and much more to do with my health.
"From the cradle to the packin' house we exist between two eternities."
 

We've followed through on pretty much everything we wanted to...of course life responsibilities have a way of raising their heads at certain times challenging you
to make the intuitively correct choices. Thank heavens, I'm married to a wonderful
man that has always seen things through the same lens.
 
I have drawerfuls full of copyrights of my inventions, my poetry, coloring books I've designed, articles and books I've written greeting cards I've designed, countless illustrations, so many sculptures I've started, so many paintings I've begun and changed my mind. No, I often don't follow through. This is one of the things I dislike most about myself!
I think I need a big, "take charge" man to shake me and yell at me once in a while!
 
Pepper said:
Wow, coloring books @Gaer? Can we see them, I already know they are great!
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Thanks, but no. Anything posted on the internet can be stolen in an instant. Even on Flickr.com, I only post the creations I don't think people would steal or copy. No, I'm looking for a publisher of coloring books, greeting cards with unique style. (not the old, tried and true stuff)
My illustrations are largely Art-Noveau style. But hey, THANKS!
 
Sometimes life's road hits speedbumps, turns, and dead ends you do not expect. So... you either change direction so you can move forward or you don't.

From an early age, was supposed to end up as a church pastor. Graduated high school and on to theological school. Two years there and got married at 19. Enlisted in the chaplain corps of the Air Force. My bride and I were going to make a career of the military, retire at an early age, etc. Scored high on the entrance exam. Put on a train to a large metro area for my induction physical. Due to extremely poor eyesight, no branch of the military would take me. My wife and I were devastated. Big DEAD END!!!

Had a wife to support and ended up in the construction industry. Didn't have any experience or knowledge of that industry, but it supplied us with a paycheck. Within a couple years was a superintendent running large crews building water/wastewater projects. Another couple years and was in the company office as a project manager. Company ownership asked me to change some wage and hour legal paperwork and I refused. Suddenly with two daughters, and without work. BIG DEAD END!!

Was immediately hired by a firm specializing in design and application of process equipment utilized in the water/wastewater field. Did some continuing education seminars for wastewater operators. Worked with engineering firms in application of process equipment. About 10 years later, the exiting ownership decided to retire. Two other project managers and myself were putting together a package to buy out the retiring owners. We were all called into the conference room, one day, and told the firm had been sold out from under us. All could stay on, but would lose some of our benefits. All three of us resigned. Now, two daughters and a son and out of work! I'M TIRED OF HITTING THESE DEAD ENDS!!!

Spent a year with a small firm in the HVAC industry. Home and commercial energy audits, etc. Got a call from an engineer I had worked with in the past. Wanted to know if I was interested in getting back into the water/wastewater field. Went to work for that engineering firm as the on site engineer for large water/wastewater plant projects. Many of these projects were in the $20 to $30 million range. Ended up owning part of that regional engineering firm by the time I retired at age 70. Oh... still with no college degree. Only the two years in divinity school waaaay baaacck then!!!

"To be or not to be..." Each of the dead ends hit during my lifetime and our marriage certainly raised questions of "Well, was it meant to be?" As we scrambled to keep our mortgages paid and food on the family table we questioned what is really meant to be? At times, felt defeated, but had to find a paycheck. In each case, we seemed to not only survive but advance our career. As we look back, now, we can say if it wasn't meant to be... a door closed. Another door opened and we began an new journey. We still cannot rationalize going from divinity school to watching raw sewage run between your legs to concrete and pipe and cleaning up the environment. But... to be or not to be... it worked!!!!!
 
RFW said:
This had been a thorn in my side for many, many years. Not having anything academic to show for. Being stuck in a job some people considered grunt work.
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Don't get me started!!! We've seen two or three generations telling kids if they don't go to college they won't amount to anything. Those that do graduate owe thousands of dollars and are hunting for a job. They get degrees in fields that are either saturated or have very low pay. But, they've followed the direction of their parents and educators and got that piece of paper to hang on a wall.

Today, kids can go to a trade school and learn HVAC, carpentry, plumbing, truck driving, etc. and be hired on the spot. Plumbers or HVAC technicians can make upwards of $80,000 just to start.

Software programs utilized by HR departments will kick out resumes that don't include a college degree! Why? Do degreed kids have work ethic? Will they show up every day? Will they show up on time? As I was leaving my career, we were calling them "40/40's". 40 hours/week and $40,000. If you needed a proposal out to a client on Monday and asked them to work extra on the weekend, you'd be laughed at. If you needed a project finished for the next day and asked them to work 1 hour past 5 p.m., you'd be laughed at.
OTOH, the excavator operators, dozer operators, concrete finishers were 60 years old!!!! Kids didn't want to do hard, dirty work. They were told to get a college degree and they could wear khakis and sit in a cubicle where it was clean, warm, and had coffee breaks.

I spent a lot of time with folks who had lots of letters behind their names. The good engineers respected those who had spent time in the field and would utilize that experience to do a better job of design. Also, engineers had zero training in confrontational situations. Contractors would intimidate them. In most cases, I gained their confidence we could work together as a team and be far more successful in upholding a client's needs than fighting amongst ourselves. Been retired over 5 years and just got a call from a past client about a month ago. He was having trouble with a wastewater pump station. I talked him through a solution and he was so grateful. And... no college degree!!!

Oldest daughter had one year of college. She has just completed her 26th year with a local university alumni association. She will have a fantastic retirement... and no college degree. The middle girl??? Pushed every button in high school. Never thought she would graduate. Barely did. Fired from her first job as a waitress in a pizza restaurant. At age 26 she was the youngest vice president of a global insurance brokerage firm. When they found out she didn't have a college degree, they sent her to night school. Today... She sets in a corner office of a global logistics firm as their Director of Risk Management. Never had time to get her MBA, etc. Makes a tad over $200,000/year and that doesn't count her stock in the firm. The boy has about 3 years left before he retires from the U.S. Army. Made E-8 in 2020. Was told he needed a college degree for almost every promotion above E-5. Finally did get an associates degree but that's all. Has a wall full of gold and silver medals from American Culinary Society competitions. Loves to jump out of perfectly good airplanes and run marathons. Has seen a number of combat mission with both the 82nd Airborne and the 5th Special Forces Group.

Did we handicap our kids by not "forcing" them to get a college degree?? Some may think so. Every one of them will have great retirement funds. Every one of them is still married to their first spouse. Every one of them is a great parent. Isn't that more important than a certificate on the wall and some letters behind a name????

Sorry for the long winded post!!! I sometimes get carried away.......
 
Patch said:
Don't get me started!!! We've seen two or three generations telling kids if they don't go to college they won't amount to anything. Those that do graduate owe thousands of dollars and are hunting for a job. They get degrees in fields that are either saturated or have very low pay. But, they've followed the direction of their parents and educators and got that piece of paper to hang on a wall.

Today, kids can go to a trade school and learn HVAC, carpentry, plumbing, truck driving, etc. and be hired on the spot. Plumbers or HVAC technicians can make upwards of $80,000 just to start.

Software programs utilized by HR departments will kick out resumes that don't include a college degree! Why? Do degreed kids have work ethic? Will they show up every day? Will they show up on time? As I was leaving my career, we were calling them "40/40's". 40 hours/week and $40,000. If you needed a proposal out to a client on Monday and asked them to work extra on the weekend, you'd be laughed at. If you needed a project finished for the next day and asked them to work 1 hour past 5 p.m., you'd be laughed at.
OTOH, the excavator operators, dozer operators, concrete finishers were 60 years old!!!! Kids didn't want to do hard, dirty work. They were told to get a college degree and they could wear khakis and sit in a cubicle where it was clean, warm, and had coffee breaks.

I spent a lot of time with folks who had lots of letters behind their names. The good engineers respected those who had spent time in the field and would utilize that experience to do a better job of design. Also, engineers had zero training in confrontational situations. Contractors would intimidate them. In most cases, I gained their confidence we could work together as a team and be far more successful in upholding a client's needs than fighting amongst ourselves. Been retired over 5 years and just got a call from a past client about a month ago. He was having trouble with a wastewater pump station. I talked him through a solution and he was so grateful. And... no college degree!!!

Oldest daughter had one year of college. She has just completed her 26th year with a local university alumni association. She will have a fantastic retirement... and no college degree. The middle girl??? Pushed every button in high school. Never thought she would graduate. Barely did. Fired from her first job as a waitress in a pizza restaurant. At age 26 she was the youngest vice president of a global insurance brokerage firm. When they found out she didn't have a college degree, they sent her to night school. Today... She sets in a corner office of a global logistics firm as their Director of Risk Management. Never had time to get her MBA, etc. Makes a tad over $200,000/year and that doesn't count her stock in the firm. The boy has about 3 years left before he retires from the U.S. Army. Made E-8 in 2020. Was told he needed a college degree for almost every promotion above E-5. Finally did get an associates degree but that's all. Has a wall full of gold and silver medals from American Culinary Society competitions. Loves to jump out of perfectly good airplanes and run marathons. Has seen a number of combat mission with both the 82nd Airborne and the 5th Special Forces Group.

Did we handicap our kids by not "forcing" them to get a college degree?? Some may think so. Every one of them will have great retirement funds. Every one of them is still married to their first spouse. Every one of them is a great parent. Isn't that more important than a certificate on the wall and some letters behind a name????

Sorry for the long winded post!!! I sometimes get carried away.......
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Completely agreed.
 
Well, I'm almost 76, retired, and disabled. So, I don't believe I should be training for the next Olympic Decathlon. But I've always wanted to go to Egypt- The Pyramids, the temples, The Valley of The Kings. I'm not physically strong enough to endure an 8 day trip, plus air travel from the US. So each day, I try to do a bit more, and I'm coming along. It's always been my dream to hug the Pyramids.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Well, I'm almost 76, retired, and disabled. So, I don't believe I should be training for the next Olympic Decathlon. But I've always wanted to go to Egypt- The Pyramids, the temples, The Valley of The Kings. I'm not physically strong enough to endure an 8 day trip, plus air travel from the US. So each day, I try to do a bit more, and I'm coming along. It's always been my dream to hug the Pyramids.
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What if it was first class air travel?
 
I've always been full of ideas and changes but rarely followed through. The few times I did things didn't turn out the way I thought they would.
I'm 76 now and most likely there will be some major changes in my life. I may not be able to maintain our home or the health issues of my hubby and myself,

Sometimes I try to prepare myself by running different situations in my mind that I may encounter in the next few years and how I will handle them.
Sometimes it helps and makes me feel more in charge of the changes to come and other times it depresses me.

I'm not sure what is the better way except to be prepared for changes to come and maybe consider it more of a challenge.
I do know I have the support of my kids and that will be a big help if I decide I can't deal with some future problems and follow through with them..
 
I've had many ideas but shelved most of them because I had a lot of responsibilities and couldn't afford the time to develop my ideas. I don't know how I feel about it now. I suppose it was for the best but only God has the answer to that.
 
Jace said:
A lot of people have ideas...
But far fewer have the bold determination to "follow through".
Do you?
With...whatever?
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" To be or not to be, that is the question ",(another is who the darn said those words first, Wordsworth, Shelley, Lord Byron, owww, really, really annoying ain't it,....., Blake, Carlisle, Milton, no I'll just have to give up proving I don't have the determination to " follow through" once again! :( ).
 
I had an idea for a local horse rescue, for which there was a huge need at the time. Took me 2 years and a lot of doing without, and the help of a forum called Horsecity.com, but I got it up and running and did a lot of good for a 15 year run before I simply burnt out and had no more help. Volunteering really isn't all that dependable for help. I do still have one old 44 year old rescue who has been here since 2005.
 
grahamg said:
" To be or not to be, that is the question ",(another is who the darn said those words first, Wordsworth, Shelley, Lord Byron, owww, really, really annoying ain't it,....., Blake, Carlisle, Milton, no I'll just have to give up proving I don't have the determination to " follow through" once again! :( ).
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You really did not know it was the Bard himself?
 

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