ElderChicks

In retrospect I started planning my “old age” when I was about 10 (the early 40’s if you must know). It was my mother who showed me where I didn’t want to be. She was a product of the times –sweet, kind, docile and unsure of herself, dominated by a loving husband, my father. I saw her as an intelligent, capable, strong woman who bought the “little woman” role. She taught me how to cook and be a gracious hostess. I taught her how to drive, open a checking account and be the person she really was. We bloomed together. It was then that I decided to be an independent, self- reliant, confident person. ‘Girls didn’t go to college’…I went to college. ‘Girls don’t work’…I went to work. ‘Girls don’t fix cars’…I fixed cars. And that is how I proceeded thru life. So today I don’t need a plumber to ‘set’ a new toilet, an electrician to find a ‘tripped’ circuit breaker and so forth. Oh yes, I’ve been called lots of things, some not so nice but that’s ok ’cause this old bat ain’t beholden to anybody!

My advice to young women today is…be true to yourself, learn to change a tire, start building yourself a money fund and most important — if someone says they will take care of you, run away as fast as you can!