Deborah Davidson’s life trajectory has been a circuitous route. Either by desire or necessity, she has explored directions that are uncharted and unplanned. She stays for a while, and when a destination is no longer interesting or workable, she recalibrates and discovers what’s around the next bend.
Deborah has had at least seven distinct careers. She’s been a technical writer, needlepoint shop owner, metals factory purchasing agent, bakery owner, office manager, gift shop owner, and eBay broker/seller.
Deborah has moved 24 times. She was born and raised in Auburn Maine, and has lived in Connecticut, Virginia, New York State, New York City, Rhode Island, and in multiple locations in Massachusetts.
She describes the impetus for many of her transitions this way:
“I’ve made a lot of bad decisions and I’ve had a lot of bad luck.”
While she might have preferred a life with more stability, she has continually been a master at landing on her feet.
“Somehow, each time, I have been able to use what I learned, and pick myself up.”
Deborah had her first taste of major disappointment when she was in high school. A consistent “A” student, she had a penchant for math and science. The admission offices at MIT, Cornell and Rensselaer Polytech recognized her gifts. She was accepted at each, but attended none. Her parents weren’t interested in financing a daughter’s education. Despite her older brother’s lack of interest in or talent for learning, his post-high school scholarship was the family’s top concern.
Deborah’s only option was to attend state college, but her parents were only willing to finance three semesters. She left school, worked a few years until she got a school loan, and finished her education at Boston University.
After college, she went to work in the burgeoning tech world as a computer programmer. She might have been poised for a promising career in coding had she not made a regretful decision.
“I was 26 and alone. I was so frightened that I’d be a spinster all my life. I ended up marrying someone I shouldn’t have.”
Deborah stopped working. Within the first year, she wanted out of the marriage. The loneliness she had hoped to avoid turned out to be unavoidable.
She found the trade-offs untenable. She had walked away from the prospect of interesting IT work to become an isolated housewife and mother in the suburbs. She felt her wings clipped when her husband sold her treasured MG roadster to buy himself wheels for his work. Her access to the car was restricted to food shopping.
No longer an income earner, Deborah became fully dependent on her husband. Although he was doing well at work, he kept his funds under tight control.
It took 10 years to finalize the divorce. By then, Deborah was more than ready to change her life. She and her two children moved to Tarrytown, New York.
Any hopes of returning to the tech world were quickly dashed. In the past decade, there had been so many substantial advances her only options were at the bottom rung of the pay scale.
So Deborah put caution aside, and her adventure began.
Needlepoint had become a popular trend. Despite lacking retail experience, Deborah had talent for crafts. She decided to open a needlepoint shop. She did well until the popularity of the craft had waned a few years later. Deborah closed the store.
Deborah wasn’t sure what to do next. One evening, while entertaining some guests, she mentioned that she was seeking new opportunities. A woman munching on Deborah’s delicious home-baked apple kuchen, suggested that Deborah sell her tasty wares. Deborah was intrigued. Soon her porch was overflowing with large bags of flour and sugar. She approached the business doggedly, widely spreading the word about her pastries at area markets and restaurants. She had several reliable customers and began adding new items to her repertoire. She knew she was doing something right when the Italian owner of a specialty shop liked her tomato sauce enough to replace it with the sauce he had been making.
When her home kitchen could no longer handle the volume, Deborah found a vacant store on a well-trafficked block and opened a bakery.
“I figured that if I took in $100 a day, I’d be ok. The first day, I took in $150.”
The store was very successful, but after 10 years, Deborah was ready to move on. Once again, she made a decision that she would later regret. She sold her profitable business to a couple that lacked her business acumen and drive. The new owners were disorganized and unable to sustain the store. They declared bankruptcy and never paid Deborah the substantial amount they owed.
It was time to pursue other routes. She moved to Manhattan and took a secretarial job at a law firm. Deborah’s interest in the legal profession was sparked. Despite being in her 50s, she applied to law school and was accepted at the University of Richmond.
It was a gutsy move for Deborah: she was heading back to the classroom with peers who were decades younger. It was also a gutsy move for the university.
“I couldn’t believe that they accepted me to their law school considering how un-marketable an inexperienced, middle-aged, female lawyer would be.”
Deborah enjoyed law school, but she was unable to finish. Mid-way through her second year, she traveled to Massachusetts to visit her aging mother.
“I opened my mother’s refrigerator and found 19 grapefruits … and nothing else.”
Deborah left law school and relocated near her mother. Once again, she needed to figure out how to support herself.
One day, while walking around a bustling neighborhood in suburban Boston, she passed an available storefront. She was drawn to the site and decided to make it the home for her new gift shop.
The store didn’t do well financially and characteristically, after 10 years, Deborah was ready to move on. This would be the fourth endeavor – including her marriage – that had lasted just a decade. Deborah describes the pattern:
“I get bored easily. I seem to have a 10-year attention span.”
For the past 30 years, however, Deborah’s lifestyle has become remarkably rooted. Following the gift shop, Deborah spent the next two decades as a successful online broker/seller. She also decided that it was time to retain her zip code. She has now been in her condo for 25 years and plans to remain as long as possible.
Deborah has adopted a more relaxed pace. One day a week, she helps customers at a local knit shop decipher confusing patterns. When home, she happily spends hours binging on addictive TV series and working on a variety of embroidery and knitting projects.
Of course, her life isn’t fully staid. Deborah’s son owns a chocolate plantation in a small town in Brazil. She travels there often, and is likely to step that up now that there is a beautiful baby grandson to visit. She has no plans to fully relocate to South America – from her son’s home, the closest medical care is hours away – but she is fully committed to being a frequent guest. Not long ago, she taught herself Portuguese so that she can chat with the locals when she’s in town.
Deborah enthusiastically describes all of her son’s undertakings in Brazil. He’s been successful as an entrepreneur, a general contractor, a chocolate manufacturer, an interior decorator, and a property owner. Clearly, this apple did not grow far from the tree!
Despite her overall success in life, Deborah is always mindful of the very difficult intervals along the way.
“Sometimes I don’t go to sleep because I’m thinking about the bad choices I’ve made throughout my life. I can’t ever undo them. On the other hand, they pushed me to take risks. And if you don’t risk, you don’t get anywhere. You have to move forward … and I did.”
