I had been an enthusiastic and fairly high profile ringer (female) through to my late 20s.  At that point, career advancement followed by the arrival of children and a non-ringing partner, meant that ringing had to take a backseat.  I didn't have the space in my head to learn new methods or to concentrate intensively so I didn't go wrong.  I also didn't have the time to travel to the locations where things were happening.  I was just too tired and too busy running a household, a career and raising a family.  I dearly wanted to still be asked into fancy stuff and to challenge myself, but I just couldn't fit it in. 

Now that chapter has passed and I am able to travel more, it was quite hard to get back into more challenging things.  I am still capable with lots to offer and lots to learn, but I was not asked into as much stuff because my profile had dropped, and my name was not "out there" as much.  I wonder how much more readily not being asked into things, impacts women more than men.  In my experience, women usually seem to be the ones who take the lion's share of responsibility for juggling all the "life things" like children, but maybe this means they're missing out on opportunities because of the perpetual vicious circle of being out of sight, therefore out of mind to be asked into things?