How is your week going?

Easter activities took me through a new loop and the week hasn't slowed down at all. I'm concluding that busy people are always going to be busy. Don't I keep saying that one lifetime isn't going to be enough to do everything I want to do before I die?

I apologize for the delay in this week's newsletter. I haven't forgotten about you or Senior Living at BellaOnline. I think about you and senior living all the time as I look at topics to write about that I think will be of interest to you. In fact, coming May 1 I will share with you another book review by another 50-plus author who has published her first book at age 70, Carolyn Garriott.

In late 2006 Carolyn published her first novel. SHADOW OF THE CROSS is et in the mid-1600s when the French and English arrived in the New World. Told from three different viewpoits, she has set out to "tell a good story."

So, remember to check Senior Living on May 1 to read the author interview and book review.

I'm already looking ahead for another 50-plus author to feature in June. I'm also interested in interviewing other 50-plussers who have excelled in their golden years. Let me tell you why.

When I left my editor position at age 46 to finish raising my children (I was needed at home) and begin chasing my dreams, my mother said, "Your age will start to work against you now."

Well, first of all, I was doing what I felt was the most important thing: seeing to the needs of my children. They were more important than a paycheck. Secondly, what does age have to do with ability? But I found no jobs when I was ready to re-enter the workplace...or was it that I love my creative freedom and really didn't want a "regular" job? As that golden year rolled around, I made the decision to no longer celebrate a chronological number. I elected to become a color. I am now Purple-3. Purple is power.

Something I've always wanted to do but never had the opportunity was to go back to college and finish my bachelor degree. I've always put my family first, tried to give my children good life-coping skills, a solid foundation, even when it meant I had toset aside what I wanted to do. (Sounds like I should write that article for you at Bella Online...OK. I'll do that.)

The sequel is that I decided it's time to finish what I started so long ago. I applied for student financial aid. Result: Pell Grant...$216 per semester for 2007-08. The rest is student loans.

It may be that at this time in my life I should be financially able to pay my tuition, but student loans are not an option. I'll write that story for you, too. It may just be me but it appears that we're told that 50-plus is only a number but then we face age discrimination, whether "they" want to call it that or not. Countless retirees are returning to the workforce because theyi've found that what they'd thought was enough on which to retire, the opposite is true.

Don't tell me how smart/talented I am and then not hire me. Don't tell me that seniors can't still contribute effectively to our society. Don't tell me I can live healthy to age 100 and then tell me I have no worth but to sit in a rocking chair and wait to die.

Seniors have a lot to contribute. YOU are a senior, in all likelihood since you're reading this newsletter. YOU still have a lot to offer your community, don't you? Senior living is about living, laughing, loving, being a part of the excitement of our modern world. And I intend to show it one interview at a time.

Do you know a senior age 50 or older who has accomplished something that was important to her or him? Let me know. Send me the individual's name, address, phone and email address so I can get to work on the story.

It's time to make our mark on today. Our generation had an impact on American living in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The tradition should continue.

Changing gears now, here's the latest article from the Senior Living site at BellaOnline.com.

Doing the grandma thing
What´s it take to be a good grandma?

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art50370.asp

Please visit seniorliving.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Senior Living.

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Senior Living located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=53

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Until next time, may the wind be at your back so you can catch your breath and enjoy at least a few minutes of respite every single day.

Cathy Brownfield, Senior Living Editor
http://seniorliving.bellaonline.com

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