I am a 56 year old divorced, semi-retired mother of two and grandmother of two beautiful granddaughters and one step-granddaughter.  I live with my significant other rurally along the Mississippi River in a small cabin which we are currently renovating into a permanent home.  I occasionally substitute teach in the school district where I live and my significant other has a full-time job.  I have four cats that keep me company.   

How did you get to where you are now?

I worked for 35 years in a tire manufacturing plant about 50 miles away from where I currently reside on the northwestern border of Illinois.  I started out as a clerk typist and worked my way up to mid-management, which was very difficult because very few women worked there.  The company was bought out by another tire company and most of the mid-management people lost their jobs.  I was one of them.  Right after that the recession hit and I have not been able to find another job, especially in manufacturing.  I went back to school when I was 40 and got a BS degree in Business, but it has not helped me to locate a job so I have done odd jobs along the way to help supplement my pension since I am not old enough yet to receive social security.  After I lost my job of 35 years, I also got a divorce from a man I was married to for 31 years who felt drinking was more important than anything else.  I lost my house, my job, and my marriage all in the same year. 

How do you see yourself differently now than you did 10 years ago?

My job used to be a large part of my life because I worked 55-60 hours a week.  I also did EVERYTHING at home.  I was a very busy person.  Now I have a small 1000 sq. ft. home, my children are grown and gone, and no job, so I'm having trouble adjusting from doing everything to doing very little.  I enjoy it very much in the summer because I love the country and love to garden, ride bike, fish, and spend time on the water, but I struggle with boredom in the winter and would like to have a part-time job to fill my time.  But in retrospect, I am a much happier person than I was then.  I have a significant other that I love very much and we get along splendidly most of the time.  A much different environment than my previous marriage.  I've learned through the struggles of that last year that living simply allows you to really get back to what's important in life, your family.  Everyone thinks they need a large house, fancy car, lots of material things.  All those things do is cost you money and precious time that you spend working to pay for everything.  It causes you to miss out on all the important things.  I'm glad I have the time now to support my kids and spend time with my grandchildren.  I am now allowed to be the independent, self confident person that I am and have learned to assert myself more. 

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I want to be fully retired, living the summers where I am and spending the winters in southern Texas with my significant other.  I want to play a significant part in my grandchildren's lives as my grandparents did to me.  I loved them dearly and still miss them to this day.  I love my grandchildren and hope to live long enough to watch them graduate from college and hopefully can help them accomplish this. I also want to be as active as I am today.  I also would like to learn the art of woodworking.

In some ways I'm glad where I am in life.  There were so many struggles when I was younger.  Many say they would not do things differently throughout their life, but I would.  I would have done more of the things I wanted to do instead of being influenced by a job that took so much of my time and marrying someone who only had their own interests at heart.  I wish I would have gone through college first and found a career than I enjoyed.  Perhaps I would still be working at this point.  But one thing is for sure.  I have become a strong person because of my life and can now use those experiences to help my children through lifes struggles and be their strength.

God (don't think I need to explain this one).  My grandfather who taught me a great work ethic as well as how to be a loving parent.  My daughter who has accomplished many of the things I would have when I was younger if I had it to do all over again.   She inherited the best parts of both of her parents.  I see her as happy, a hard worker, and a loving person.