Thank You Thursday: “She motivated me to start law school at the age of 42”

So, last week, I wrote about the  importance of saying thank you , and noted that I’d be starting  a Thank You Thursday column, open to readers who want to thank someone who’s made a difference in their life. The first installment comes from business and estate planning lawyer, Paula Schaefer:

In 1997, I worked in city government, a position that I generally enjoyed. At that time, a 77-year old part-time administrative assistant Lorraine Foster worked in my office. She was a rather sharp-tongued woman who was comfortable speaking her mind. One day she lectured me that I was lucky to be a young woman at that time in history. I was flattered (because I was 42 at the time and no longer considered myself “a young woman.”)

Lorraine’s parents had the financial means to pay for her college; however they would do so only if she went to nursing school or became a teacher. She wasn’t interested in either profession so went to work instead. She had guts! She worked in the U.S. Navy and later became the right hand for a successful CPA. At 77, she was still working in order to keep her mind sharp; she had always dreamed of studying accounting and becoming a CPA. Lorraine regretted that she had not done so.

I went home that night and thought that I did not want to be 77 years old and living a life regretting that I had not studied law.  I was the 3^rd oldest student in my first year law class and frequently older than my law professors.  I’ve had a few law jobs, some great, some not so great, and am now officially soloing. It’s been a challenge and often scary, but I will not be 77 and saying coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Thanks Lorraine Foster!