Midlife: What Better Time To Decide What You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

I fit right into this midlife of career changing. It was not by intention but by fate. I divorced my spouse after 25 years and was working full time as a federal worker. But with change also came no job/career. I moved out of the state to another state and just could not get a job within the same system. Therefore I decided to turn my career around by starting college. It has been about a year since I have been without a job, but going to class and learning new things and new ways to learn has been more rewarding than any job I have ever had. I had been working for the government for over 20 years and for the life of me was a bit upset when I couldn't get back into that system. Not any more, because I am happy to be doing exactly what I am doing right now. I can count my blessings each and every day.

The joke for me when asked about what I wanted to be when I grew up was answering, "A Race Car Driver." Then my kids would roll their eyes and say that I already drove like one.

After raising five children (only two are at home now, and they're teens)I finally finished college. That was a personal goal of mine and once completed I found myself saying "I LOVED that. Now what??" There was a real void in my life after I finished college. My network of other nontraditional students was gone, and we weren't there learning together, debating, challenging each other any more. Now I'm at a crossroads: which way to turn? I've been laid off of work, am now a college grad--should I go to grad school at my age? Should I look for another part time job? Should I just volunteer a lot and hunker down in preparation for upcoming grandchildren? I don't want to feel like I'm preparing for retirement but that's what it feels like. After the stimulating, challenging time I had in college--now my personal life feels anticlimactic and as though I'm in limbo. My full time job was housewife and mother. I'd always worked at least part time, but that was my life for about 26 years. Now what?

I'm blogging about this and trying to network with others like me, so that we can help each other and support each other on this journey.

"My dear, many things in life remain unexplained...until they are." ~Dr. Walter Bishop of "Fringe"