challenges

i finally figured out what turning 50 means. well, at least what it means to me. and only what it means career wise. i'm starting to think that if i decide to stay put in my job, i will never work at another company. that realization freaked me out a bit. i don't really consider 50 old, but i also know the likelihood of being hired after 55 gets pretty slim. so unbeknownst to me, i thought turning 50 would be about looking old, it's not. it's about being old.

it seems like a time when you either move to a new job with all new challenges, continue to challenge yourself at your current job, or stay where you are and start winding down. the first 2 are the only options i can see as viable. slowing down? really? and then, somewhere in the back of my mind i think how nice it might be to stop working. i've worked since i'm 20 years old and i've loved it. some years more than others, but all in all, i've always considered myself a working kind of person.

but what if i had the opportunity not to work? what would i do? the thought stops me dead in my tracks. i took off 5 years when zach was born, but was still doing things. things like teaching myself new computer programs and working on freelance graphics projects. so, would i really ever not work? i think i'd always continue to challenge myself with something. i don't think that something has to be a work-related task.

wwcd:  it's more about keeping my brain active