While unemployed, I spend half my time thinking about the next step in my quest for a job (while working on my career) and the other half of the time thinking about how illustrious my career will one day be. Okay, so some days the scale tips a little more to the dreamier side, but I still stay focused on survival in these times of increased unemployment and decreased morale for many. Highlighting job ads in the classifieds is like the adventures of Walter Mitty, only the search for the right job is not fictional, it’s for real.

“What do you wanna be when you grow up?”    Lorna says to Jeff. Jeff is not a kid, in fact, he’s retired. With the mind of an engineer and the hands of an artisan, he spent years completing home improvement projects with the preciseness of a craft person. He’s always enjoyed playing the role of handyman, but for years because of his dutifulness to his job, he was confined to being a weekend builder. Now his face gleams when he recounts all the hours of sweat he poured into his home and he wrinkles his brow only when he contemplates the length of time that he’ll have left to savor it. You see, after years of loving labor, they’re taking a leap, or a long flight anyway, to begin their life in another country. And, although the move appears to have its benefits, he’s nonetheless forced to leave his masterpiece dwelling for greener pastures.

As I continue to review and renew my resume and ponder the many accomplishments my job history illustrates, I constantly send myself reminders of the good things I left behind. Processes I have changed, suggestions I gave that implemented change and best of all, I think of the smiles that I generated from those who otherwise wouldn’t have smiled as much or at all but for my witty nature and willingness to incite laughter from my coworkers.

The State Fair is in town and folks from far and wide attend. Everyone from the ticket takers to the booth workers is enthusiastic about their jobs. You see adults playing children’s games and children begging adults to let them play the games!   You get the point here. It is possible, and apparently beneficial, to maintain a healthy sense of youthfulness in your outlook and prolong your usefulness by exercising your creativity and putting your passion to work.