Ecuador. How cool. I've only visited once, and only Quito, but it hooked me. I've got a work buddy who's visiting there right now. Jealous.

Glad the apartment phase is over, and I hope Priscilla's nesting in well. By the way, I had an old girlfriend named Priscilla. (Nuff said. No, I'm not going to go there. Ha! :-) )

Now the job hunt. With your qualifications and people skills, some employer's about to get very lucky hiring you. But before that happens, there might me some hoops to jump through. At my age, 55, that was hard to bow to in my job search years ago.

I don't mean to sound like I'm full of myself. But there were some times in job hunting when I thought experience ought to speak for itself. Yet I found myself having to explain myself in the interview about stuff I thought should be obvious selling points of my job history.

That's when I had to suck it up a little and fake it to make it with extra humility. That may not be your challenge at all, I'm just speaking for me and job hunting at my age. It took more patience than I thought I had at times, but I mustered it, and ended up where I am. I'm really happy where I'm working. I know that can happen for you, too.

Check with your local V.A., in our area there are opening for V.A. personnel, I think a new Govt. contract is in place, so they had several openings in our state. It may also be the same in your area.

Alas, I am having a hard time getting any of that to show on a resume. I hold no university degrees. My host of technical certifications are all from the last millennium. 18 years of housewoofery still does not translate as work experience on a resum. Whatever my pre-1995 work experience, now I just a meddlesome bum with a toilet cleaning hobby.

Self-esteem issues? Me?

Small steps and long chews? Seems like maybe I have already over-chewed this one.

Thanks jewells. The VA is already on my counseling list. The Texas Workforce Commission will link my on-line resume with almost all the government agencies as soon as I figure our how to word my experience to coincide with the search engines. Computerized resume review is even more finicky than human reviewers.

What you achieve "in the world" means nothing except as it pertains to your personal growth as a soul. I am impressed with that resume, friend. You have done courageous things, you are quite an important person in my view.

Judge yourself very, very carefully. I know how it feels to think yourself a "failure", oh boy do I know. This is not an accurate assessment. WHO you are, in your soul, in your heart and mind, is so enormously special! SEE THAT, please. And have patience. Whatever is next for you will come to you. Be sure to discern it is the correct "next step", don't just take it because it's offered. It is hard to "love" yourself but, you must. I know the echoes in your head, I have them, too. You have great value. Try to believe that.

Thank you, Daughter. Nourishment for the self-esteem is hard to come by.

The engineering career I left in 1995 was not shabby, but it was nowhere near so gratifying nor so challenging as bringing my out-of-control adolescents under control. Nor was that daunting task the only thing I accomplished in the last 18 years.

Now to get that digitized into contemporary standards in a position that fits my nature...

That's what I found most challenging when I mentioned that I was on the job market at age 52: how to bring life experience into the interview conversation in a meaningful way. You're the most articulate person I know, and I teach college, arfie, so I'm saying above and beyond my colleague in the speech department at school. There's got to be a way to bring that to bear. Let us know if we can help, if you want to rehearse anything with us here. We're rooting for you!

"awkward housewife moves" you made me smile :-)

Have you thought of having a professional write your resume? They often see all the talents that one does not see in themselves. Sort of like spin doctors...

Yeah, good idea, Cecil.

I know the positions they were hiring for here were info gathering interviews. Like an intake person, you record there histories and actions, program benefits they may be interested in and demographics Age family and income ranges. this info would then be passed on to another. Interviews were by phone and in-person if needed. etc Submit.
So phone skills, interview techniques typing 25 wpm and data entry on online forms.

Arfie, I was going to respond to your #3 post, but then I see you already did.

I think the honesty you have about your past 8 years is good. And you are right. An employer in your field will not look at you. My husband's in the same situation for different reasons, so that's why I'm not blowing smoke. Yes, being a mother is AWESOME, but it doesn't pay the bills.

You know what does??? Waitressing, delivery, other areas where you can work for tips, IF you can stand that. Then, you can save and take some classes/courses in something that DOES have jobs out there that's related to your field and claw your way back into the market. It may not sound great, but it's a means to an end. At your age and the way things are now, you could be working for another quarter century, so going down that path may take a bit longer, but it may help.

Go to you local library- they usually offer career advice. Or a local college.

Best of luck.