The Magnificent Modern Mature Woman

Responsibility is the state of being accountable for your actions and the consequences that follow. Merriam-Webster adds moral, legal or mental accountability.

Growing up from being a toddler to a young adult, parents teach children responsibility by doing chores from picking up toys when younger to mowing the lawn and making dinner when older. I had the job of shoveling snow in a northern State so my parents could drive their cars up hill on our driveway.

We are responsible for completion of our work at our employer as they are to provide a safe working environment in which to do so plus providing the tools and training to do the job well. What happens when one party fails to do its job? Failure possible termination on the employee side. What about the employer failing to hold up their side of the equation? Likely nothing unless it puts the safety of the employee and organization in danger. Unfortunately, companies fail to on responsibility as well as the employee causing problems down the line.

My toxic employer lacks the responsibility of communication, tools to do tasks and documentation of process and procedures. Yes, they are small but have a big impact of owners, managers, employees and customers. Unfortunately, I’m too old to quit and too young to retire. Have one task that is not being done because of equipment failure which I told my supervisor and have asked about since. Him feeling sorry for the person who is supposed to fix it has caused backup of work for me which yesterday I was silent about his decision. Today, I just watched my favorite Posher of a live show on Poshmark on silent on my phone to be able to perform my duties today.

Fortunately, Glassdoor which is a job site app that offers insight to the culture of the companies that one is applying for. My employer has denied the truth on the site thus not claiming their responsibility and their opportunity to make things right. Despite the facts, I am still responsible to get my tasks done in a timely manner that reflect the best possible that I can achieve.

Own your responsibilities!

Leslie Elizabeth David.

Have you ever had a decent day then all of a sudden you end of crying? Yes, I know the answer could be post menopausal emotions that creep up or is it more?

Maybe so of being emotional but being independent and not relying on only a few people emotionally can be difficult. Sometimes, I think that it’s GOD’s reminder that I am human. At work, I rarely socialize and talk beyond the subject matter of work.

For those of you who have a lifetime spouse or a current partner, consider yourself blessed. Sometimes, I realize that you have difficult times and wonder what it would be like to live independently of a spouse or boyfriend. In my life, I have met men post divorce who I would have committed to although I would hear them say, “you’re a lady and I date factory women.” The words would be more blunt of the women but I’m a lady and won’t repeat it. Saw this person a few years ago who now lives 1600 miles away but I refused to acknowledge him after he gave me that reason. Decided to hold him to his decision. He has or had a cousin who lived a few miles away.

Believe that soon, my emotions will stop in a little bit which life will get back to normal. Although, I believe that it is good to have a decent cry once to remind yourself and myself too that we are human and that we need to receive on occasion.

Please remember that you are not alone on this journey of life. There’s others who are going through the same thing at you are. You do not need to be strong all the time, you do not need to take care of things that aren’t your responsibility either and your feelings/emotions matter. We need to support each other as women as life continues to change.

Thank’s again,

Leslie Elizabeth David.

On Monday, we face reality of what we did over the weekend especially Super Bowl parties where we eat and drink to our heart’s content. The game is so big that celebrity chefs and others come up with ideas of food to feast on for the event. The food if is almost as important as the game itself for fans. Overindulgence of food and drink are common for the Super Bowl game viewers and those attending the game.

The best thing to clean out your system is water and raw oats while one doesn’t offer nutritional value, the other does. Also, raw vegetables and fruits help as well. If you have a regular meal cycle during the week, it’s best to follow that. Take aspirin or acetaminophen for headaches as needed but don’t overdue it.

My experience is from my early years of much partying after my divorce which I had a system down to recover from being out late and sometimes overindulgence in alcohol. It taught me to be prepared for afterwards such as getting a Big Mac to fill me up without irritating my stomach. Many times, I had to work the next day without looking like I was out late.

My experience may be different than yours so I invite you to share here and maybe help the younger people on how to recover. Once again, our experience can teach others important things like how to recover from an event and make it to work the next day and actually be productive.

Thank you once again,

Leslie Elizabeth David.

Despite education and experience, my friend has a mundane job at a small business. Although, she is grateful for what she makes, its not what she has dreamt about for a career.

Her duties consist of printing, folding and metering the outgoing mail plus commuting it to the post office. Also, she scans such documents that are returned to the business. In addition, she answers the phone which ends in transfer to all areas of the business although my friend is allowed to answer financial questions. The business lacks an oral and or written employee manual to guide behavior of all employees plus it lacks rules and guidelines as well. Lots of favoritism and bad behavior is played out in plain site by management and staff. She has witnessed more than once, a married manager from one department flirting seriously with a staff member from another department. Favorites and gossip run wild at work.

Truthfully, many small businesses focus on growth instead of maintenance like employee guidelines and constant training. It comes to a point where an entity must act big to become big. Fortunately, my friend does things outside of work for fulfillment and satisfaction. Leaving names and places out to protect all concerned.

If you have a friend or even yourself that works in toxic environment, please be there for the person and encourage your friend to find his/her true path.

Thank you,

Leslie Elizabeth David.

Retirement is the goal of many of us who have worked hard to earn a living ,marry, raise a family, paid for college and weddings of children and try to save enough money to live off of a pension or two plus social security and maybe investments.

If you are retired, what are you doing now? Anything differently than your parents?

My Dad was fortunate enough to retire early from medicine as an Osteopathic physician practiced in general, sports and ER. Afterwards, he went to, Doctors Without Borders, which he visited many countries. My Dad’s situation is unique to many.

My situation being far different than his. After losing employment after 23 years and moving across the country, my future sale of my house and my small pension plus social security will be for my retirement. Although, I cannot imagine not working and not creating so time will tell.

Have you planned your retirement? Have you set down to calculate how much that you can live comfortably? Or, do you plan to keep working as long as you can?

My hope for you is that whatever you do and whenever you do it, is that you have peace, joy and contentment in your life. Plus, the most important things to pass down to adult kids and grandchildren are your values and morals plus family traditions.

Thank you.

Leslie Elizabeth David.

How was your childhood growing up? What are your best memories of it? What are your worst? If you could change anything would you? Was it happy or was it sad? Depending on if you consider childhood through high school or it ends when one becomes a teenager, what are your fondest memories?

Myself, I was fortunate enough to grow up in neighborhood in a somewhat new subdivision on a cull de sac that had lots of kids. Most of the families had at least four children and one had thirteen kids. We had water fights, lemonade stands, football games and baseball. Despite my challenges of being born premie with developmental issues, I was still accepted. Afterwards, my family left the small township and moved north a few hundred miles where everything changed.

Growing up in the 60s and 70s, what are the values did you teach or are teaching your children and grandchildren? Are you still in touch with your childhood friends? Myself, my Mom kept her friends since she was a little girl and I have too. My Dad and my other siblings changed friends as they moved. My youngest brother moved back to the town of the north where he has kept his lifer friends.

My encouragement to you is to reach out to those childhood friends of your youth to feed your soul and to laugh about the silliness of life. To ask, “whatever happened to? Or, “do you remember when we did this?’ You deserve it. Facebook has bought my elementary and junior high friends back together which we share about the smallest and biggest parts of our lives without judgment.

Thank you,

Leslie Elizabeth David.

As previously mentioned, I shared about my unnamed friend who works in a toxic environment. There’s more to it than previously mentioned.

My friend who works in a toxic environment has objectively mentioned some aspects that might be a common thread in organizations. 1) Lack of employee handbook or guidance on what protocol is for behavior. 2) No real leadership present only management support or advisement. 3) Low tech or no tech for tasks. 4) Excessive workloads with high expectations. 5) Gossiping and criticizing others constantly. 6) Lack of good communication regarding daily life in all departments and individually. Her thoughts from her experience mirrors those previously mentioned in other spectrums of media.

My friend who doesn’t and can’t socialize because she’s a phone receptionist plus she does various other things like mail and document retention. She feels that she gets hassled because she is different than her coworkers being a free spirit plus she looks different being small, dark skinned and dark eyes which isn’t common where she works. She doesn’t socialize with anyone outside of work.

Please share your experiences of the good, the bad and the ugly with a pseudo name for your protection. We can support and encourage each other.

Thank you,

Leslie Elizabeth David.