It's official: yesterday I attended the third and final follow-up session of the entrepreneurship skills class I took last fall. There were seven of the original fifteen of us there yesterday; some people have found employment and all of us are in varying stages of getting our businesses up and running.
New Ventures. That is the name of the course, one of the many programs offered through the Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community, which originated in 1978 as a program for displaced homemakers. Displaced homemaker is an outdated term. It used to refer to women who were separated or divorced, women who were starting over.
I am not separated or divorced, but I am starting over.
In December I saw the movie Everybody's Fine at the theater. On Monday I watched it again on DVD. Frank Goode, the main character played by Robert DeNiro, has retired from his job. His wife has died, and Frank is trying to stay connected with his four children. He has a conversation with his daughter Rosie, played by Drew Barrymore:
Rosie: What about your plans? What did you want to be when you were my age?
Frank: I didn't have any plans. I just wanted to hold down a job and find somebody crazy enough to marry me....
Rosie: So there wasn't anything you wanted to achieve?
Frank: Nah, I didn't really think much about it. Never really gave it much thought. All I wanted to do was just be a good father.
I know what he means.
I can identify with Frank, who is doing the best he can to find his way. He needs to figure out what comes after the role of fatherhood has been fulfilled.
I am finding a new place. My own personal venture is about to begin.
Target date: March 30, 2010.
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8 comments:
Good news; ready, set, go! I wish you the best of luck and success.
This is so exciting! Wishing you all the luck in the world with your new venture.
I get what Frank's saying. He didn't need more than to be needed and happy. I guess the thing is, how that happens changes as we go through the years. The very best wishes on your new venture, Sharon!
I think it's great that you took this class and have drawn so much from it. It seems like the things you learned (and connections you made) will resonate in months to come. And that movie sounds interesting! I can relate to Frank as well. I sort of felt like that when my son graduated from high school and went off to college. Even though I was still writing/working from home, I'd spent so much time working at the school and being "Mom" that I felt "displaced" when that role changed.
Sharon, PRAISE GOD!!
I love your spirit.
Patti
I can so understand what you are feeling. Being a mom was my major role in life. I can't wait for you to announce your new venture.
It must be hard to redefine yourself and your life after the kids have grown up. The possibilities are endless, and the magic perhaps lies in the idea that you don't need to be defined by anything, and anything is possible.
Ready, set ... leap!
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