ncmom2dawters Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Moms who have or are nearing the end of your homeschooling journey ... what happens next? Did you go back into the work force? Did you continue with a career you had before homeschooling? How did you or are you preparing for the transition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I never left the work force, so now I have less to juggle. The vast majority of moms I know (homeschooling or not) return to the work force especially to help out with college expenses and retirement savings. I have more time to follow some of my interests. I self-study nutrition. I volunteer as a math tutor in a GED program. I'll be taking a leave of absence soon in order to volunteer as a tax preparer. I've always been in a choir. I'm thinking about signing up for steel drum ensemble. I exercise regularly. Since freshman year in college, I've had a goal to take physics and pass it. That might happen one of these days or years.... Another goal I have is to develop a more active social life. I work 30hrs/wk from home, and my husband is an introvert. I feel too isolated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I still have one at home, but she is a senior and I am not teaching any of her classes this year. I have picked up some volunteering, and I am doing some tutoring and teaching. We'll see whaht the future brings, but I expect to continue on this path for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arborite Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I never left the workforce. I don't know what I will do! My son heads to high school next year, after two years of homeschooling. I have so loved learning, traveling and exploring with him! All the hours spent reading history books that registered as "parenting" in the spousal accounting ledgers will now be categorized as "personal time." :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I did not leave the workforce to homeschool; I have been working part time. I may be able to increase my hours, but that is not certain. I am thinking of taking some classes and learning something new, but I am definitely wrestling with the issue. We did have a long thread about this topic just a few months ago, maybe you could find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 We did have a long thread about this topic just a few months ago, maybe you could find it. Almost-empty-nest syndrome: how do you deal with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I'm thinking i'll be there soon - my husband is so stressed over income. My teen will start community college next year, but i'll stay home to help him transition, and homeschool my younger one more, then the plan is to try to transition the youngest back to school and me back to work. I was a database programmer/analyst making more than half of dh's salary when I quit almost 7 years ago. I worry it will be hard to get back in, but we really need the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajudy Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 This is my last year of homeschooling. I went through a bit of a crisis at the beginning of the school year, but now I'm coming out of it. Years ago, I thought maybe I would go to college myself once I got the kids through school. My only degree is a PhT (putting husband through -- all the way through a PhD!). But now I don't think I will. I'd be in my 60's by the time I finished, and what's the point? Who is going to hire someone in their 60's, fresh out of college, who hasn't been in the workforce for over 30 years? I plan to do some serious self-education and take all those things off the back burner that I used to do...sewing, painting, gardening (I have a large back yard and have been wanting to try my hand at Japanese gardening), maybe write a book. DH wants us to spend more time together and would like to eat a healthier diet, which means I need to learn how to prepare healthier meals. We have some home remodeling to do. I'd like to practice hospitality more. I teach flute lessons to some of DH's students. I may expand on that. I'd like to play my flute more and learn to play the piano better. I have lots of things I'd like to do. Now I need to set some clear-cut goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I have always been a stay-at-home mom. :-) I started a little school at my church when younger dd was 14, and taught there for two years. No paycheck, but it was fun, lol. I was surprised by a job opportunity when older dd got married at 21 and younger dd was 18: desktop publisher for a commercial real estate company. I worked there for three years and then quit because it was killing me. And I have remained a stay-at-home mom (although I'm thinking a job might be in my future--Mr. Ellie's year of unemployment killed us with credit card debt....ugh...). It's tricky at my age. At any rate, I've stayed busy. In California, I owned/administered a PSP (Private School Satellite Program) for homeschoolers for 16 years, several years after younger dd was finished at home (including the three years I worked, and the two years I taught in the little private school). I've been on the board of directors for a non-profit, taken fencing, Scottish Country dance and hula classes, been a Precept Bible Study leader, was on the state cabinet for the Gideons International in California, and more. Sometimes I've even managed to stay out of trouble, but there's no guarantee that will always be true, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Probably still working like I am now. I piece together several part-time gigs and contracts now, and probably will continue that. I miss teaching local homeschool classes, and I might do that again. Right now the majority of my work is from home, and I need to continue that until everyone is in college (3 1/2 years, eeeeks!) I'd also like to do some volunteer work at the local hospital because they do such a great job for the community, and they have a really vibrant volunteer program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Being aware that my younger might want to go to highschool, I might only have four years left so I've been thinking about the 'other side.' I come from a long lived family with my grandmother still wearing her high heals until103 and my dad still running 10 miles a week and teaching/mentoring as a full professor at 78. So starting at age 48 to 52 (depending on if I'm homeschooling younger in highschool) I'm going to retrain. Possibly gifted education and then work to develop curricula, or advocate, or possibly teach. I want to stay interesting and interested and want to keep working as long as I can to help me meet these goals. I figure that I have 20 to 30 years post homeschooling to get out and make a difference in this world. That's quite a bit of time! Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 This is what I am doing now: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/495838-self-education-people-i-sold-a-painting/ That thread we had recently here was pretty good. Somebody linked it for you. I've just been through this, this fall. I had a few days of desolation and the rest of the time it was just hard to breathe. I have older kids back home, at least part of the time, and I have a dog and cat, I am spending more time at my parents' house, and I mind my 3yo nephew 20 hrs a week, so I am not exactly empty nesting. I am just children-grown-up-now-ing and not-homeschooling-now-ing. The not-homeschooling causes a pang or two occasionally but mostly I am relieved about that - it was such a huge responsibility. The things that comforted me most were the dog and the ipod full of new music and audiobooks that youngest left for me. I have adjusted. I still miss my children enormously, any of them, no matter how old, when they are gone. I think I have said thank heavens for the dog a million times. She and my kitty are a huge comfort. I really like being back at the 3yo stage, having company two feet from my head grocery shopping and washing up sticky hands and reading Peter Rabbit over and over again. I like having more time to be at my parents' house. I am adjusting. I don't think I'll ever get over the grief of my little ones being grown up or get over missing any of my family when they aren't right under my nose, but those are unavoidable. I don't like having my parents getting older, either. I keep telling myself that having them grow up and grow old is better than the alternative. My best tip is to overlap things so you don't have to do the hard beginning part of whatever new you are going to do while the grief of having your youngest gone is new. I also would like to say that too much time on your hands is unlikely to be a problem grin. If you get to that point, all you have to do is look around you a bit and you will find lots of people to help. It is more a matter of choosing something personally fulfilling to do and then finding or making the time to do that on top of all the more obviously necessary stuff. It is good to think ahead a bit. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 We still have 2-3 three years to go, but I am thinking really cleaning the house and reorganizing will easily eat up the first post homeschool year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 We still have 2-3 three years to go, but I am thinking really cleaning the house and reorganizing will easily eat up the first post homeschool year. Groan - I thought I would have time for this. And to make nice suppers for my husband. I have done a bit. I was smart and last fall, while I was still homeschooling and would be for months more, I pulled out, reorganized, and put into storage most of the homeschooling stuff. I did NOT want to have to take that trip down memory lane this fall. I have eight years (the high school years) of accumulated neglect to undo, though. It has come in useful. I still have enough young stuff around to keep my 3yo nephew entertained. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Over the course of our hs journey, my dh was diagnosed with a condition that has left him unable to work, and he will not return. As a result, I returned to work part time several years ago. I recently got a part time job with a local govt agency, where I plan to go full time when my youngest graduates in a few years. They have a decent retirement set up, and the income will help with college costs. I am not in the field I was before hsing; I'm in a different area with no connections, nothing turned up when I looked for part time work. I'm very happy with what the plan seems to be now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 My mother in law stayed at home and had 3 kids of her own and adopted 3 more while running a teaching foster home for 20yrs. She did bring in income with the fostercare though. Before she had the kids she had a degree in Social Work. After my dh moved out, my father in law's business crashed and he was unemployed and they lost everything. My MIL went back to school, took on more foster kids, and got her Masters in Education while supporting my Father-In-law while he tried to rebuild his business. She's amazing. Anyway, he ended up working at only 1/2 the pay he used to bring in. My MIL went back to work as a teacher and with her extensive background with at risk kids, she was promoted to Vice Principle within 2 years. In just 2 years more she was a Principle of her own school and after 3 years she became a regional Leadership Team Manager and trained other Principles at risk schools. So I tell you that to say, just because you've devoted 20 years or so raising kids, you can recapture the time out of the workforce in many ways. My Father In Law ended up retiring 5 years before she did. For me to see how when he needed her help she just hopped in there and maintained their home in creative ways. Then when his career depleted their income, hers doubled his in just 5 years. It can happen for you also. Consider this a new chapter. Well, the manual quotes worked but my post got eaten. Grrr... Just wanted to say that I think Iprstn makes a good point - we can look at the lives of the women who are ahead of us to see the possibilities for our own lives. My mother-in-law is amazing, too. And my mother. Ellie is a bit ahead of most of us and she has been most generous with the details of her life. Don't forget that adult children, family commitments, and elder care are all time consuming. You may not have as much time on your hands as you think. Family commitments and some volunteering eat up great gobs of time. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in SWVA Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Don't laugh! When I was almost finished homeschooling my four daughters (2 in grad school, 1 in college and a senior taking some college classes), we adopted a 17 month old boy! He is now in 9th grade. I don't have a clue what I will do this time around. Maybe I will help homeschool my grandchildren. Susie in SWVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I am starting to formulate some great would-be hobbies to supplement my time working in an ER. But with my luck, I will probably have grandchildren show up at the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I have children now 26, 24, and 22. When that 22 year old turned 14, I started thinking about this and just didn't want it to end yet. You can see in my signature that I started all over again. I don't even have to think about it for the next 13 years. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.