Considering Retirement

 

In July I have a milestone celebration, my 65th birthday. I don’t  feel aged. I have no infirmities. I’m at the top of my game in a technical role at work. I appreciate my manager. I have the upmost respect for our group leader. However, last week it was announced there is yet another reorganization. I am fatigued with reorganization. I understand that people who eschew management positions make the decision to remain relatively unsung in the corporate hierarchy. I’m at peace with that. But sometimes, the decisions made appear to be unrelated to what is good for the company and the employees who toil wordlessly as the cogs in the wheel, without voice, agency, the ability to challenge the status quo, or seek consideration. 

I’m one of the lucky ones who feels appreciated and is asked for feedback on occasions. 

But, I have concerns that those in the ivory towers miss  so much of what makes an organization dynamic.

It is the people who show up everyday, online or in person, that keep the clock ticking and the organization thriving. Best those at rather top keep that in mind.

College Protesters Should be Required to Visit a Holocaust Museum

 

The fact that so many colleges and universities have cadres of students setting up encampments and singing to support Hamas shows how the American educational system has failed miserably in teaching youth about actual history as opposed to reimagined history.

I have befriended people through out the diaspora of the Middle East throughout my lifetime. The part of the world that is believed to be the cradle of civilization encompasses Arab, Persian, Jewish, Palestinian and numerous other subcultures. This geographical area has been the subject of wars, disagreements, hate, passion, dislocation of people, religious strife, biological differences and border disputes for millennia. 

What causes me the greatest disbelief is the fact that most of these protesters supporting Hamas have zero knowledge and understanding of the geopolitical issues of the region.

I know people who have been expelled by their home countries because of religious or political strife. I know people who had to escape Iran in 1979. I know people who were in the US Embassy in Lebanon when it was bombed. I know people who lost families in the Holocaust. I know people who were forced from their homes when the Jewish state was created. 

But unless one has been to a concentration camp, experienced horror of true genocide, walked through a museum commemorating the Holocaust, talked to a survivor, read Night, watched ‘Its a Beautiful Life’ or ‘Schindlers List’, studied the history of a time just a few decades ago, toured the memorial to the USS Arizona, talked to Jews today who feared for family members on October 7, 2023…you have no right to protest, to argue that Israel has no right to exist or to defend its people and borders. You are no less culpable for the atrocities committed by Hamas than the terrorists who killed babies, innocent civilians, young people celebrating, the infirm or elderly. 

Celebrating Life

 

My husband and I recently celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. That may not seem like a glorious journey, but for us it was an affirmation of life.

Our parents enjoyed over 60 years of marriage. That was a different time. We are both grateful that our parents continued to appreciate one another over 6 decades, with love, humor and tolerance.

Our generation has been different. We both had starter marriages, marriages that failed for various reasons, relationships that just didn’t work. Rather than wallow in the negativity of those unsuccessful relationships, we kept putting ourselves out there, believing in kismet, knowing that the numbers game could ultimately bring us together with a soulmate. 

It happened. This is not to say everyday is glorious. There are times in which we disagree. But, in the scheme of life, we support one another, share the good and the bad, try to always remember the reasons we connected and decided to make it work. 18 years. We still like each other, still appreciate what we bring to the relationship, still accept our differences, still have a joint goal and vision of the future. That is what makes my heart sing.