After the kids are in school, then what?

I feel your pain.  Transitions and self-reinventions are the hardest challenges to face and endure.  Do not despair.  As you watch over your children, you can take this time to think through the next phase of your life.  What are your passions?  What do you really love to do?  What are you good at?  And if you needed to go back to school, you can do so part time--whilst watching your little ones.  One thing I did is took a few classes to see what really turned me on--got me going.  Then, I would also talk to people in various professional fields to see if that sounded like something I wanted to pursue and do as a future career, long term.

I completely agree with admin. I was fortunate enough to also stay home and raise my children for about 5 years. During this time, I stayed active in continuing my education by taking courses at the local community college to work towards finishing my AA. I also volunteered at the kids' school (like you) but asked for more responsibility. I was able to oversee the student counsel for the elementary school and I ran it like a small business. We raised money that we used to fund different projects and donate items to the classrooms. I also organized different events to get the kids excited and experiencing different types of activities. A couple of my favorites were an art contest that we held where the kids (grades 1-5) used recycled materials and a field trip to the courthouse so the student council kids could experience our judicial system. It was just enough to keep my feet wet, my skills honed and my sanity in check.

I enrolled in a photography class and started this week. It is a non-credit course, but I think it will be fun and I will learn alot.  I am very excited about it and am looking forward to working my assignment this weekend.