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In my last journal entry, which seems like years ago, I mentioned that I was going to attend another AARP Work@50+ Forum in Battle Creek on July 11th (which happened to be my husband’s and my 10th wedding anniversary).  I drove to Battle Creek on the 10th and received news that evening that my mother-in-law had been admitted to the hospital, but was in stable condition.

I remained in Battle Creek and took part in the morning session at Kellogg Community College. The keynote speaker was Jeri Sedlar, author and motivational speaker. Her books include Don’t Retire, Rewire and On Target: Enhance Your Life and Ensure Your Success. What an inspirational and motivating message! One of the activities included identifying our DRIVERS...why do we work beyond a paycheck? We were given a list of 30 to choose from and were encouraged to add our own. If you can’t think of any, here are a few that I checked...To be part of the action, to be creative, to have intellectual stimulation, to be constantly learning, to make a difference, to pursue a passion, to be connected, to use/develop skills and talent...and there were many more to choose from. After the initial checking off, we were challenged to narrow it down to the top four. The idea is to figure out if what you think you want to do fits what drives you. At the end of her presentation, she introduced Bernard Young (an entrepreneur )and me to the audience and had us tell our stories. As a result of telling my story, I was approached by the director of the paralegal program at Kellogg Community College and given a packet of resources to aid me in my job search. As I’ve stated before, I highly recommend attending any and all forums, seminars, etc. to establish your network of people who can help you in your search.

I then returned home Friday afternoon and awaited word on my mother-in-law’s condition. According to what the doctors told my sister-in-law, they felt that her condition could be improved with medications and they were going to run some more tests. We planned to go to see her (in Ohio) the next day, Saturday. Sadly, we received a call early Saturday morning from my sister-in-law that she passed away that morning. We contacted our children and made arrangements to travel to Ohio. We remained there for a couple of weeks...for the services and to grieve with family and friends. It seems surreal that we have lost two of the dearest people in our lives within a three month span. And yet, within that period of time we were blessed with the birth of twin boys to my brother and sister-in-law’s son and wife. Life has come full circle...God in his mercy gives us joy in the midst of grief.

Now I am back in Michigan and getting back to the business of life. I periodically receive notices of job openings from my former professor. I have responded to two thus far. I have an interview tomorrow with one of the firms. There are two positions...one part-time and one full-time...neither of which are paralegal positions, but both will give me valuable experience. I will keep you posted as to the outcome.

I am confident that I will find a position in my field eventually. Just like life, our work experiences take twists and turns to get to where we want to be. I will continue to network...there are some legal luncheon talks coming up and an alumni function at LCC this fall. I am convinced that more people find their ’dream jobs’ through networking than any other way.                         Until next time...God’s blessings to you!