Once upon a time you had a career...
By: Phillip Gross

Once upon a time you had a career
An electrical phenom, the girl engineer
Then in mid-life you did an about face
Staying home with the boys became your new working place.

You played the piano, and taught it as well
Was this when thoughts of teaching started to gel?
You went back to school, going down a new path
And ended up here teaching the discipline of math.

The years have gone by in the blink of an eye
From ciphering to robotics you were willing to try
Change is a coming, I know you’re aware
Forward let’s look, if you’re willing to dare.

So often it is quoted, so often it is said
To be really alive, your soul must be fed
The life we have here, standing on top of the ground
Is like wearing a fabulous diamond jeweled royal crown.

For as we grow older
And become somewhat less bolder,
We are resigned to the fact
There are many things that we lack.

Through ambers and ashes our fires still burn
While the clock we call life continues to turn
We come to a point and soon realize
What’s important to us is not our own lives.

While these heartfelt changes are taking their place
Soon we discover that life is not a race
It’s not for the money, the glory, or fame
That keeps us still working and playing this game.

Making a difference by reaching a child
However so subtle, however so mild
Changing the world is the gift that you give
By planting the seeds so intelligence can live.

I end this poem for my colleague and friend
Wishing I could make the aches and pains quickly end
There is one more saying that I haven’t a clue
Susan, “ NIFTY AT FIFTY “, is it really that true???