Years ago, a colleague asked me, "What's your passion?" The fact that I didn't have an answer took me by surprise. It took me a really long time to figure that one out. Was it writing? Sure... I love to write. But I love to market, too. Finding the unique attributes of a product or solution and helping others to understand its value proposition is, in some ways, like creating a piece of art. You blend words and images together and bring forth something that elicits an "aha!" moment for the audience. But then, I also love dancing, figure skating, history, fashion and design, and fluffy dogs.

I left the hi-tech world for a while, in search of my passion. During that time, I devoted myself to getting some of my children's stories published, caring for my family (including my father, who had become quite ill), and creating my own small business, Ages Designs. Ages Designs was meant to be a partnership between my mother and me. She had expressed that, after my father passed away, she wanted to open a shop having to do with fabric in some way. I found that it also gave me a creative outlet, providing opportunities to delve into historic costuming.

During this time, my son expressed a significant interest in becoming a world-class pairs figure skater. I spent a lot of time shuffling him back and forth to the rink until he could drive himself. I paid a lot of attention to choosing the right coaches and opportunities to move him forward in pursuit of his goal. This, combined with the looming costs of college, brought me to the conclusion that it was time to quit focusing on my own personal search and once again become gainfully employed.

I had hoped that the publication of my two children's books, Ziggersnout and Jewel of the Opera Garnier, would help to subsidize his skating, but when my publisher had to abruptly shut down operations, I was left with doing everything myself and lacking in certain skills and knowledge. My own small business suffered similar issues when I found that my partner had limited interest in it. The odd thing was that my aim had been to help my mother achieve her dreams and she thought she was helping me to achieve mine.

A brief encounter at the employment office opened my eyes to something unexpected - the world no longer seemed to have use for anyone over the age of 30. As I sat waiting to meet with someone, I saw an older colleague of mine walk in. He was well-dressed and poised, but his face was worn and tired. I wondered for a moment at that, until I overheard a conversation between two of the agents who worked there. One was shaking his head as he looked over the man's resume. "Geez," he said to the other. "Thirty years of experience at this one company. We'll never be able to find him a job." "Nothing we can do," the other responded.

Anger welled up in side of me. How dare they! I knew that man and I knew what a hard, awesome worker he was. He was kind and loyal and easy to work with. But it didn't take me too long to realize the truth of their assertions. The economy had tanked. Older, "experienced" workers were too expensive. And there was this underlying assumption that they "couldn't do tech". Which was all the more reason why I needed to get back in - pronto!

Fortunately, being older means you often have a larger network of contacts who can help. I was blessed with some marvelous ones and found that I could have a dream job, working through agencies, as a marketing content creator and consultant. Advances in technology now allow us to collaborate from our remote offices, interacting with colleagues and clients all over the globe. And yeah, us “elders” can use tech. Remember, we invented it.

In retrospect, I’ve found my passion. No, it’s not being a writer. It’s not working as a consultant. It’s not being a seamstress, nor an entrepreneur. But it is within all of these things. It’s most eloquently conveyed within the pages of my two books – Ziggersnout and Jewel of the Opera Garnier…

…. Making dreams come true, one day at a time…

This is the theme in both of these books. A little boy dreams of learning how to skate and winning medals. A little girl dreams of dancing on the big stage.

And it’s been the theme of my life. My mother dreamed about owning a business having to do with fabric. My son dreams about going to the Olympics. My husband dreams about living in an Adirondack lodge surrounded by gardens. My nieces dream about living in a castle and finding Prince Charming. My colleague dreamed about getting back into the workforce. These are the things that drive me to do what I do.

Sometimes you’re not the one with the dream to attain – some of us are born into this life to lift others instead. And it makes me very happy.