I was cheerfully greeted and had my order rung up by a woman who had to be in her seventies today, in a fast food restaurant. She was happy to be there, made her life so much better to have the extra income. We talked. I felt bad for her when I first saw her, and felt something akin to proud of her by the time I left. You do what you have to do, and she’s doing it in good spirits. No point in getting down or complaining, it only makes matters seem worse.
My husband lost his day job last year so he went full time at his part time job. He will be 61 next week and he’s a waiter at a casino steakhouse. Sometimes he feels down about it, but I just remind him that it’s temporary until he gets another sales job, and in the meantime he’s making over $35/hour so (quoting Cher in Moonstruck)....snap out of it. I’m glad that he is able to continue to provide for us and proud that he’s so good at what he does.