A writer and reporter like Leslie! Oh, and I would move to New York! I’ve switched jobs/careers at least three times - people where I live don’t hire anyone over forty! (And it is where our kids are, so there’s no moving NOW!

As my own personal beliefs tell me, we should never spend a day when we are not moving forward - baby steps or giant strides. Have you heard the word “boring” — and I will spare you the other words — if you don’t get the most out of every day, in work and in your personal relationships, I can picture you now sitting on your sofa with your TV your best friend. Is your career satisflying and allowing you chances to rise in your field? Do you find “fun” and “satisfaction” in your professions? YOU don’t?? Well, kiddos, you are in the wrong field. Is it ever too late to change? From personal experience, I would say “no”. I love this new world — unlike the beginnings of our own careers, where are mothers told us — you know, the lecture - that this is the job we would be at for a lifetime and we better be sure we made the right choice. We called them then “the olden days”. Now, switching jobs, switching progressions, is not looked on with disdain. WOW is the word of choice. “Right on” follows shortly. Not your business life, but your whole life - particularly at home - is affected by aspects of your job. Away at lot? Long hours? Cranky at home? Well, you may soon be well be closing out your marriage. And again - my own opinion - but shouldn’t, isn’t, your personal life — and the love in it — more important than all the rest. Perhaps, you are young and still don’t “get it” — but I tell truth here. After saying that, the words “if you could change careers today . . .” I found a negative thought. Of course, you can at least try to change careers as unless we find our own niche — and believe, as we each have one or more than one - LIFE in the big letters is not fully lived. And we WOWers CAN’T have that. I know how to do it, but I don’t think the powers that be above on the masthead want me to go into the details today. To the specifics as the question addresses each one of us: I have used life as a career stepping stone, unfraid of exploring new fields (OK - to be honest, completely honest here as I am among friends - if the field has the least tinge of math involved - I am “all done”) while keeping the back foot on first base (the past job) until I am fully vetted (as the politicians say). Has it worked? We all judge success in our own ways. But, frankly, after 60 I believe I have never done better. I know the ropes, I have had such diverse experience in what I call “the higher places”, i.e as high as I want to go. Do I think I could have done even better, risen higher? Yes. But the downside is that I am wise enough to know that it would have affected my home life — a life with a dream husband who I treasure - AND I want to have enough free time to do extensive exploration of the far corners of the world. The beauty I have seen enriches my soul, the people - including well-known people who have chosen the same course as I - have more than given me college degrees on site in a world of subjects that I have soaked up like a sponge and leave me craving more. So yes, I have changed professions - always keeping a hold, a footprint, on the last one — and I have grown through so doing. Am I open to more? What a question. Do we ever want to close the door on what may lie ahead in life??? Do we ever want to be “all done”?? When you remain bright, enthusiastic, creative, you attract others like a magnet. We know that. Did I ever dream that through a “magnet enounter” two years ago that I would meet one of the world’s best in oceanography who happens to love “sponges” anyhow, and has taken me under this wing and under the seas in a way never imagined. Too old you say? You are never too old I have found to get your feet wet as I have in an entirely new endeavor - an endeavor that just follows so many others that have been that pile of “gold” in our lives. So all you WOWers, never say no, keep your mind open to what is new and interesting to you, and - if you must - hold on to that job. But a huge bog is out there. Don’t dip even a pinkie into it, but instead reach for the sky — and there is a good chance you will get a piece of blue!