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Next Chapter....continued Is Fifty REALLY the new 30….      Did you ever think there would come a time when you reached an age when certain options were no longer ADVISABLE? I remember when my mom first recognized that her age no longer fit in an 'age specific' bracket – you know the one – “ please check appropriate age bracket: 0-15 16-25, 26-40, 41-50, over 50” . She couldn’t believe that she was now in the 'over' segment. We laughed, and laughed. Well, look who’s laughing now.       I really do think it's time for a new bracket (s). I’m going to speak to my friend at AARP about that. After all, 50 is the new 30 , and I still have two kids in elementary school. When my mom turned 50, I was already 24, and I was the baby of the family. I WAS 24??? When I turn 50, Sidney (our baby) will be 9. That’s an age spread of 15 years between my age then and Sidney’s age now. That’s unbelievable. What was my mother thinking? Or, what was I waiting for?...

It’s 6:30 in the morning and I’m sitting at the breakfast table reading the morning paper and having my first cup of “half caf” coffee (we’ll touch on that later), when I come across an article of particular interest – “ Stay at Home Moms ”. I’m somewhat excited about the recognition, making the front page of the Post (lower left corner), and yet somewhat cautious of the premise. My “ caution ” was warranted. Apparently, there was a recent study done that indicated that stay-at-home moms tended to be younger (than what?) and less educated . Hello, I don’t recall anyone knocking on my door or the door of a number of “sophisticated", "mature” acquaintances of mine who just happen to have “ opted out ” of traditional employment. The funny thing was the timing of this article. Its been nearly a year since I took my “ leave ” to become a full time MOM , and was finally coming to terms with my decision. I mean, come on people, I am part of a REVOLUTION – “ opt-out revolution ”- m...