Lately the BonVoyage 1000 Mom's group have been getting lots of emails from women who left their careers behind to raise their kids and are now having second thoughts about the decisions they made.
The main driver of their doubt seems to be the bad economy. Many women are desperate for work now because their husbands have either lost their jobs or had their incomes cut during this painful recession. Given their years of voluntary unemployment, some of these women are finding it difficult to get back into the work world.
This from one reader:
I’m a displaced house-wife (homemaker) all my kids are grown, one still at home (19 yrs. old working w/ his dad) I want to, do something now with my life, besides stay home and keep house. As of now my husband is working by the hour at a fourth of what we are used to make because of the building slump. I need to go into the work force or go back to school, get into something with benefits or do something, but I DON’T know what? Help!!! I 53 years old soon to be 54. I haven’t worked outside the home in so long, I have NOTHING to put on resume or application, no work history or references. When I look at the information on the applications, I think I don’t have anything to even get my foot in the door. I wish I could get some sort of on the job training. I feel I’m to old to be thinking of career at my age. I just need to find someone who would be willing to train me. I’m so confused!
It’s a heartbreaking story, but one that’s replaying itself around the country. The recession may be making things worse, but women who decide to leave their careers behind often end up at this cross roads.
BonVoyage 1000 Moms have read an essay recently in Newsweek by a stay-at-home mom who wondered why her daughter’s role model was her father even though she was the one who did everything around the house and for the family.
This question of a mother’s identity when she stays home is one that’s been debated for years. I’ve written about the economic price some women may pay for choosing this path, and I’ve encouraged my own friends and family members not to go down it, at least not for too long.
Check out what our BonVoyage1000 Mom's are doing: CLICK HERE
The main driver of their doubt seems to be the bad economy. Many women are desperate for work now because their husbands have either lost their jobs or had their incomes cut during this painful recession. Given their years of voluntary unemployment, some of these women are finding it difficult to get back into the work world.
This from one reader:
I’m a displaced house-wife (homemaker) all my kids are grown, one still at home (19 yrs. old working w/ his dad) I want to, do something now with my life, besides stay home and keep house. As of now my husband is working by the hour at a fourth of what we are used to make because of the building slump. I need to go into the work force or go back to school, get into something with benefits or do something, but I DON’T know what? Help!!! I 53 years old soon to be 54. I haven’t worked outside the home in so long, I have NOTHING to put on resume or application, no work history or references. When I look at the information on the applications, I think I don’t have anything to even get my foot in the door. I wish I could get some sort of on the job training. I feel I’m to old to be thinking of career at my age. I just need to find someone who would be willing to train me. I’m so confused!
It’s a heartbreaking story, but one that’s replaying itself around the country. The recession may be making things worse, but women who decide to leave their careers behind often end up at this cross roads.
BonVoyage 1000 Moms have read an essay recently in Newsweek by a stay-at-home mom who wondered why her daughter’s role model was her father even though she was the one who did everything around the house and for the family.
This question of a mother’s identity when she stays home is one that’s been debated for years. I’ve written about the economic price some women may pay for choosing this path, and I’ve encouraged my own friends and family members not to go down it, at least not for too long.
Check out what our BonVoyage1000 Mom's are doing: CLICK HERE
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