Blogging in the bigger world has some interesting side effects.

When most of my Internet writing was limited to my personal blog, I knew my audience ... not just in a this-is-what-they're-interested-in sort of way, but up close and personally. I was familiar with the family situations, the pasts and presents, the work environments. Spouses and children had been introduced, discussed and examined, and although I won't claim to know intimate details, I did know a lot.

These days, I wouldn't know a reader if I passed one on the street, but readers do know me. They know about my kids and my husband, my house and my life. They've read about my past and my thoughts, what makes me happy and just what it takes to tick me off. This occasionally presents situations.

Recently, I've been receiving private emails from a reader looking for advice. For reasons I've not grasped, she has the idea that I know something about something and should therefore be able to help her.

Having written about unhappy marriage, divorce and the like from a personal perspective, I'm now considered by one person an expert. Or expert enough to turn to when an unfaithful husband decides to abandon ship ... or family, in this case, including a one-year-old child adopted as a newborn.

I won't go into any details, but her situation does prompt me to pass along information when something crosses my path.

This story from the Chicago Trib titled, "Old story: Women may have it worse. Divorce and lost earning time could put living standards in a free fall late in life." is one of those somethings.

With some frightening examples of what can happen to women who trust husbands to see to the future of the family, pointing out facts like:

Older unmarried women have higher poverty rates than anyone else.
Women live longer, so need more to last the extra time.
SAHMs forfeit years of benefit build-up.
Traditional pensions are becoming a thing of the past.
Divorce pulls the rug out from under the pension anyway.

and so on, it's a lot to think about.

With the closing line:

... "I work with a woman that's 70 years old, and she's driving a bus right now," Williams said. "I don't want to do that when I'm 70." ...

it provides an inspiration for all of us to attend to our futures, for ourselves and for our children.

Continued ...