I came of age when women were newly encouraged to be equal, to take charge, to surge upward, “lean in.”

As a result of this insurrection – and the recent spate of down-sizing higher echelon men – 20% of women ages 40 – 69 earn about the same as their spouses and 24% earn more, according to statistics.

I am one of the latter, because I’m still at work as a speech-language pathologist, despite being of another age, the age of typical retirement. Mine is a profession embattled since success-oriented young women fled into more lucrative college majors.

This situation’s ironies couldn’t be more apparent: I make more money than my husband because I am still at work, feeling honor bound to fill the service gap, while he’s retired.

No regrets or discouragement at the state of affairs; I am actually vacationing in the British Isles next week, spending the well-earned affluence of disparate income generation. I am a woman who embraced the message of her age and time.

Because I took charge and possess a spirit of adventure, there have been/will be lots of vacations. Larry and I have the aff (luence) for that.