Deborah L. Jacobs's Blog, page 9

In Saint-Cyprien, the Périgord’s Past Is Present

Dotted with prehistoric caves, elaborate gardens, castles and limestone cliffs that overhang the Dordogne River, the Périgord has been a favorite since the time of the cave dwellers. In the medieval village of Saint-Cyprien, visitors can experience 21st-century life in rural France.

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How to Find Purpose and Meaning Without a Job

"Without the structure of a job, what will I do when I get up in the morning?” I get this question a lot, from folks who are stuck in oppressive, dead-end jobs, aren’t thriving within an organization, or have recently left a job by choice or circumstance. Six women, from four different generations, show how you can create your own job.

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Love, Loss And Starting A New Chapter Through Art

Work has led me to some precious friendships, including with Samantha Shaddock. After we both left Forbes, she started Gutsy Broads, devoted to women championing other women. I am honored to have her publish this story, about a woman in her 70s who has overcome enormous obstacles, first as a caregiver and then as a widow.

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On Writing A Memoir in Real Time

During the year that my husband and I spent planning a lengthy French sojourn, I envisioned writing a book about the forces that converge to force baby boomers out of traditional work arrangements sooner than expected—something that had happened to both of us. Ken had been sidelined by back problems and a profound hearing loss. I had resigned an oppressive editorial job at a place I called The Content Mill to reclaim my independence as a writer.

To help pay the bills, I came up a strategy that we called living on the sharing economy. The concept was to rent our historic townhouse in Brooklyn, New York, when our only child started college and live in France on the proceeds. But, as so often occurs with foreign travel (and life), nothing went according to plan.

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What to know before you rent out your house while you travel

On the two occasions, so far, when my husband and I have rented out our home — each time for three months — we wound up charging our tenants’ security deposit for about $400 worth of property damage. In each case, we also absorbed the cost of several hundred more dollars’ worth of repairs when we weren’t totally certain that breakage (for ex­ample, of locks, door mechanisms and drawer pulls) was their fault.

There were moments when we questioned whether it was all worth it. Then we reminded ourselves that our house had created a significant income stream that made it possible to divide our time between Brook­lyn, N.Y. and France. Letting go of our precious home was the price for that.

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Motherhood and Planned Obsolescence

This Mother’s Day, I do not expect my son to buy me a gift, take me to dinner or send me a card. If he calls to say hello and tell me about the events of the week, I will be delighted to hear his deep, 20-year-old man’s voice. If not, I will assume that he is engaged with his own activities and be glad that he feels no obligation to honor me on this Hallmark holiday.

Don’t get me wrong. For my husband, Ken, and I, Jack is the love of our life. But we also believe that the greatest gifts parents can give a child are confidence and independence. For children to reach that point, we need to give them permission to separate. If we do our job well, we become obsolete.

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