Within five months in 2008, her mother and sister-in-law died. She was told that her job in special education was being eliminated and that she would be reassigned. A few months later, her father died after a massive stroke. In December, her school district placed her on unpaid leave.
?I was devastated,? Mayer said. ?I felt hopeless. I?m thinking, ?I?m 54 years old, and I?m a loser.? ?
Mayer?s daughter invited her to a Silpada party, and she resisted, not wanting to spend any money and not feeling at all social. But her daughter insisted.
Mayer was glad she went. She visited with friends she hadn?t seen in a while. And she loved that the representative was ?deliriously happy.?
?I decided right then and there, I?m going to do this,? Mayer said.
On Tuesday, Kathy Suarez of Lee?s Summit hosted a Silpada party for co-workers and neighbors. They gathered around the kitchen table to pick up and try on the jewelry. Mayer wore a dozen pieces herself, including a pair of hammered silver earrings.
?These are my best-selling earrings,? she said. ?Everybody loves them.?
?I?m not making the salary I was making at the school district,? she said, ?but then when I look at the money per hour, I was never making $100 an hour as a teacher."
