This isn’t a discussion about your topic, however, I feel compelled to add my comments to a comment I read on Amazon concerning “The New Senior Woman.” The comment was made that a New Senior Woman needed to be someone who had independent means, not someone who was on a tight income. I want to reply to that statement by stating that your “Second Act” does not have to be about a business or making money. My friend, Roberta, and her husband Jim are retired from blue collar positions. When Roberta was in her twenties, her mother started providing meals to an elderly friend who could not afford to eat three meals a day. Roberta’s mother thought that if this lady (who was 96 years old) could just have “One Good Meal” per day that her health would improve. Today Roberta carries on her mother’s dream by providing over 100 meals per week. She takes no income from her non-profit and runs the organization strictly on donations from civic clubs and grants in Jackson County Missouri with 20 to 30 volunteers. I am proud to be one of those volunteers. Roberta may not be filling her bank account or watching her 401K but she is building up treasures in heaven and is one of the happiest people I know.
Second Acts are for All Income Levels by Marilyn Arnold
September 7, 2014 by ElderChicks
3 Responses
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Bless you, Marily Arnold. I believe you are absolutely right. The God I serve looks at the motivation of the heart. Sounds to me like Roberta and her mother might just be an example of the actions that are blessed in the hereafter. An example found in too few in today’s busy, busy society.
Marilyn, I was struck also by that person’s misreading of The New Senior Woman. I’d say at least half the people in the book would definitely not consider themselves as financially secure as she suggests. Sounds to me like she’s feeling very insecure herself and is blaming an inability to find something meaningful to work at on her financial plight. You’ve given us shining examples of what people can achieve that has nothing whatsoever to do with money. The investment Roberta’s mother and that Roberta and Jim have made is of the heart and will. The reward is far beyond what money can bring.
You’re so right, Marilyn. Retirement is a period where people have time to do more…that includes doing for others without remuneration. My first thought when I read The New Senior Women was that these women were all financially secure and embarking on new money-making ventures. But this isn’t true. There’s a broad cross-section of retired women and that’s what the authors did impart.