The Miracle of Aging

For nearly three decades, Robin Wood was the voice of Cincinnati to listeners on a weekday morning radio show. But after years in the business, Robin found herself living for the weekends. When she turned 50 in 2001, she decided to sign off the airwaves and open Robin Wood Flowers.

While her flower shop has blossomed, Robin earns only a fraction of her old six-figure salary—but she has come to terms with it. "I would say I'm making about 20 percent of what I used to make," she says. "I used to spend a lot of money on clothes. I used to spend a lot of money on cars. It just doesn't matter that I have a minivan with 95,000 miles and a big dent in the back. I realized it just isn't a big part of who I am. It's just stuff."

Now that she's working in a career she loves, Robin says she can't wait for Monday mornings. "I come to work as early as I can possibly get my eyes open in the morning. I happily work 12-hour days, and it's really okay, because I love it," she says. "You can't depend on your kids to make you happy. You can't depend on your husband to make you happy necessarily. They can certainly add to it. You have to make yourself happy, and you have to find something that makes you happy."