Falling Stars

I've always wanted to work. I have this sister who chose her profession early or so it seemed to me. We both had children around the same time; and yet she went to work in the medical field and I struggled to find out where my professional niche was.

Sometimes, when I look at the measures young people take to scramble ahead professionally, I see the tension between the re-entry person who has different experiences and the younger employee. The end result seems to hold even greater tension and I am not sure what it means. It is cranky and it is ragged. And I don't know if the tension is new because of the increased need for people to work throughtout their lives and the lousy economy or if it has been present across generations.

How did you become a re-entry woman?

Tell me, did you plan to go back to work?
Did you know what you would do and did you create a timeline that followed the flow your life's decisions?
Tell me how did you plan to go back to work?
Was it when your children were older?
Was it because your money ran low and debts ran high?
Or did it just happen, much like growing olderr
One day you just needed to work and then what happened?
Tell me did you plan to start and stop and start working again?
Or did it just happen?

I am almost convinced most women don't plan to return to work
I've noticed some women talk that they will go back to work and when they are faced with the need to work, they blanche.
We have been trained to plan for our first date; attending the prom; going to college or beauty school; we plan for our wedding and how we'll live happily ever after with 2.1 kids in our planned home (all dreams)
and we don't plan to work and we don't plan to choose work we love that is a hot passion that creates change
and we don't plan for the scenarios that face us in the work force.
How did you become a re-entry woman?