Nobody really knows if she was aware about all this or not, but if I were her I will give all what I personally have to the people that now is suffering so much thanks to her husband, her sons are also welthy people, and I’m sure they can take good care of her.  To do nothing to aliviate the pain that Mr. Madoff create to so many will be worst, and will show to the world that she is not much different from him.

God blessed you for your big heart,…  I’m pretty sure there is a big pillow full of feathers waiting for BG in heaven.

Thank you for sharing your story.

I love my gray hair, I’m 48 yrs. old, since I stop using color to cover my grays (4 years ago), my hair has become more lustrous, shinny, and is nos falling any more, I always have a good hair cut and the money that I don’t use in coloring now goes to protect my healthier hair, I also realized that after make peace with that, I’m more interesting in treating my body better from inside out, and the results are great and you can see that all over me, even now that my hair looks gray, many people including men told me that I look younger and more secure of myself. I’m loving it. It’s beautiful to discover that we are more than a prefabricated picture, is time to be ourselves and embrace that power.

Dear Joan, after I read your comments and your thoughts I start feeling a glimmer of hope about my personal situation, I’m almost 48 years old, born in Peru (South America), married to a wonderful American guy and raising a teenager son, my career of choice was Secretary, I worked not only in my country but also in Venezuela in big corporations and also as a presidential secretary, I was always very proud of myself.

 

When my son born my old dream came back, I wanted to live in the USA, and be able to give him and myself all the opportunities and choices that we never had.   Through the company where I was working during that time, KRAFT GENERAL FOODS (Phillip Morris Corp.), I got the opportunity to visit the USA for the first time, that visit definitely change my life. In my country I always studied the English language, is a must have (part of the curricula in every school, college or university), I thought, that this knowledge will be enough for me to give me a good start, that was true at the beginning, I was able to work right away in different Supermarkets and then in a Department Store, but after sometime I decided to try something different and challenge myself, I was accepted to work in the American Cancer Society as an assistant in one of their offices, supporting a team in charge of different events.  I worked with them for only two months, the longest months of my entire life.  My tool of work for almost 20 yrs. was my language "Spanish" and as a complement the English language. For me, to live in a country that speaks a different language was a great challenge especially for somebody in her 40’s, and even after 8 years is a constant struggle, for my son that arrived to the USA when he was 10 years old, was a big change but now is a piece of cake, I studied and practice constantly, read books and watch the news every single day, I will never give up. But going back to those days, I can only say that I tried to do my best but my frustration got on the way, from being an expert in communication and a solution finder I turned into somebody experiencing complete fear each time that the phone start ringing or somebody was asking me to write a simple letter, my self-steam just went down the toilet. I didn’t want to give up, so I took some training and started working as a Customer Representative for a Furniture company, I always have excellent skills to work with people but for some reason the magic was not always there, most of the time our customers believed that we were responsible for every wrong thing that happen in their lives; anyway I worked there for almost 2 yrs. until we moved to another city, then I decided to stop working and spend more time with my teenage son, who in that moment was going through and identity crisis… does that sounds familiar?. Now he is 18 yrs. old, back to normal, ready to choose his future, and the inevitable question that I master to avoid again and again is hunting me wherever I go,  AND NOW WHAT???

 

I definitely want to work again doing something that I enjoy, that pays decent money and keeps my brain, my body and spirit alive, I consider this my second chance, I’m ready to start again but even when I have all the intentions I don’t know what to do, I feel like a baby learning her first steps.  I tried to get a job working from home using my computer, but the horror stories about scams are getting worst. For now I’m open to new ideas and suggestions that can help a decent 48 year lady to start a new professional life.

 

To Joan and all the other ladies, thank you very much, for your stories, opinions and for being so open about your projects and goals, for the ones that have not chosen a path jet, like me, don’t worry takes a lot of courage to open your heart and ask for help, you really inspired me, I hope one day I will make you proud. 

 By the way, sorry for the spelling and/or grammar mistakes.