I don't care what they say I won't stay in a world without love Please lock me away And don't allow the day Here inside, where I hide with my loneliness I don't care what they say, I won't stay In a world without love Birds sing out of tune And rain clouds hide the moon I'm OK, here I stay with my loneliness I don't care what they say, I won't stay In a world without love So I wait, and in a while I will see my true love smile She may come, I know not when When she does, I'll lose So baby until then Lock me away And don't allow the day Here inside, where I hide with my loneliness I don't care what they say, I won't stay In a world without love (Please lock me away) (And don't allow the day) (Here inside, where I hide with my loneliness) I don't care what they say, I won't stay In a world without love So I wait, and in a while I will see my true love smile She may come, I know not when When she does, I'll lose So baby until then Lock me away And don't allow the day Here inside, where I hide with my loneliness I don't care what they say, I won't stay In a world without love I don't care what they say, I won't stay In a world without love (forget him) Peter and Gordon

Thanks for all your thoughts. I've knocked most of the big chunks out of the keyboard. I'm scared to get into the innards. So think I'll live with an extra keyboard for awhile until I decide whether it's worth the expense of a new one (I'm liking the looks of the big 17" screens on a couple of the laptops I've seen). Cheers, Louise

And darn darn darn! I had the chance to pull off a great April Fool's trick on you all by creating another topic by the same name making you think it was the old topic that "suddenly" came back to the top! lol

Your answer is why I suggested getting into some of the para-professions. It's NOT unusual for people in their 50's and 60's to get into those fields AND GET JOBS. My dd messed around for about 3 years, before settling on opticianry in college, even so, she was the youngest one in her major--by about 30 years! Most of the other students were in their 50's and 60's and yes, they did fine and got jobs in their new fields. I know you don't want to hear this--I wouldn't have at your stage of life--but the 'caring for older parents' situation isn't going to be for forever. I took care of my mom for about 13 years, had a short year 'off' when my aunt's health took a turn and I becaue responsible for her--but only for about 2 years. Now, DH and I are in our early 60's and relatively responsibility-free as all the older generation is now gone. You want to start preparing now for that time, truly. We're lucky, because with the way our finances are set up, we are able to get buy on SS and DH's pension. Do you have pensions at your place of employment? If not, do you have enough savings that you can live off the interest? keeping the principal in case you need it to fund assisted living/nursing home care down the road? At age 50--YOU have enough time to get a job that will give you at least a small pension by the time you're in your mid-60's. Dsis was just about your age when she started working at the Post Office as a mailman--another example of the fact that there are decent jobs out there for older folks. You just have to find one that allows you to be a bit flexible. One thing that leaps to mind is being a CNA--only takes a short time to become qualified, would help you care for your parents, and the hours are VERY flexible.