My children are grown up now, and I theoretically COULD leave house and find outside employment, but I have now chosen not to take that path. This time decision is a calculated one.

Throughout my family's childhood and teen years, I solved "where to be first issue" by working from home. My hard-earned M.Sc. degree in Human Resource Administration was shelved - although I would like to think I applied some of key principles to running our in-house human resources. As a fluent English speaker in a foreign country, armed with latest computer equipment in my own home when computers were fairly new even in offices, I opened an English-language word processing business out of a corner of my living room.

My clients came from nearby academic centers and new hi-tech industry park. As word processing became more sophisticated, I moved on to desktop publishing and was soon creating books, brochures, and journals. I attended seminars, read literature and soon expanded my services to offer copywriting and marketing communication. Over years my portfolio grew and I felt a special frisson whenever I saw a company with my marketing material succeed.

All while, children were growing up, and although often pressured from deadlines and demands of not one boss, but many -- as is plight of independent business person -- I was able to "be there" for them and participate in school and club events.

Over years, I co-authored a book, established, published and wrote an online magazine with two women partners, and with them also built an online business. All this while, my children graduated high school, served in army, traveled abroad, returned, left home, returned, had a baby, worked abroad, returned, got a girlfriend (who knows? he doesn't tell me anything...), and we built a house. Now I have a fabulous corner office looking out on garden and my husband has his own sanctuary upstairs.

And then my father surprised me during a routine touch-base telephone call, which he later backed up with an e-mail note. "I've been thinking... Maybe you see a way to use internet for our business? Is there a way you could direct something like that?"

Somehow I got it into my head to buy my friend a handbag. It seemed simple enough. I've never had a problem buying toolboxes, cabinets or file folders, so how hard would it be to pick up a handbag?

"I would like to buy a handbag for a friend, please."

"What kind of handbag," smiling sales lady asked helpfully.

"Uh...one that carries stuff in it, I suppose. Is there any other kind?"

"There are very many kinds," SalesLady enthused. "There is at least one for every occasion and several for every personality. What is your friend like?"

I tried to think. Unfortunately, only thought that wandered into my cerebrum was that maybe I should go across street to hardware store and just buy her a sturdy 205-piece socket set on sale for $74.99.

"Is she a bit wild?" SalesLady probed. "If so, we have these exciting leopard print handbags. They are perfect for howling out on town."

I tried to picture a leopard wandering into bookshop café. "I don't think 'wild' quite describes her."

"Ah. Well these corset bags are not quite as wild," SalesLady offered.

I blushed at site. "That might be a bit too stylish for her. She's more...uh..."

"...conservative!" SalesLady piped in. "Here are some classic handbags, for more conservative tastes."

I looked at bags. "I don't know. These look kind of boring to me."

SalesLady was taken aback. "Boring? These are for professionals. They say your friend has arrived. They say she is climbing corporate ladder. They say, 'I am somebody.' Would you call Bill Gates boring? Would you call Donald Trump boring?"

"Donald Trump wears one of these?"

The look on SalesLady's face said just one thing: "Men!"

"I don't think my friend is much of a professional corporate type. She's more casual."

"Casual? We can do casual," SalesLady assured me. "Check out these suede handbags. Feel that texture. Soft as a baby's bottom."