My writing career was put on hold due to an unexpected pregnancy. I was staggered by the sacrifices I would have to make and the lack of support from my spouse. I went from frequent job offers to being cast irrelevant because I had assumed the role of “mother.”

I had my dream job as a newspaper editor. That ended about 7 months into the pregnancy. It was all too much — the 60-hour work weeks, the physical demands of attending meetings late into the night, tromping out to crime scenes, dangerous situations, etc.

Your indentured servitude doesn’t end when the kids go to school. Your duties are officially over when their schooling officially ends.

I am only now returning to my writing career that was pushed aside for some 25 years. I confess it was only considered plausible because rampant age discrimination has forced me out of the job market.

Being a woman in the job market is tough. Being a mother is even tougher. But absolutely nothing prepares you for the age discrimination that comes after all that.