Follow your dreams or follow the money?

I've been faced recently with the task of helping my oldest daughter try to nail down her path in life. It's not an easy job, and the advances of our current society make it even harder. I mean, think about it; Fifty, sixty years ago, young girls didn't have to worry about their future beyond maintaining a trim figure, learning how to cook the perfect pot roast, mastering the vacuum cleaner and nailing down gushing "Oh my you're so witty and smart and strong!" with a straight face.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing I want more than for my daughters to be strong, successful and happy in their lives. But how do I get them there? The direction my life has taken me taught me a couple of very valuable lessons:

1. Don't neglect your career
2. "Professional Costume Design" is not a realistic career

So, at 38, I found myself separated and unemployable. Sure, I raised a couple of kick ass young ladies and I can whip up awesome Halloween costumes , but that doesn't bring home the bacon and gin.

Woe be to me, my oldest daughter is exhibiting all the signs of being "creative" just like her ma. Photography is her thing. She's good at it and she loves it. But can she, realistically, make a good living at it? Will she be able to financially support herself and her dreams doing it? The odds aren't for it.

So what do I do? Do I "crush her dreams" and push her towards a more mainstream path that will ensure her future is secure? Or do I tell her to grab that shining star and worry about the future later? What's the answer, or is there one?

And, more importantly, why didn't anyone warn me this parenting gig could be so bloody soul-crushing?

For now, I think I'll pour myself another gin and tonic and pray for divine inspiration (or intervention, whatever comes first).