Um, ok, its not my *life's dream*. And like you mommajb, I am a dilitant. However, I think I have a better and broader appreciation for the process of life rather than the end result at this stage in my life, so am pinning less on this being *it* than on this being another chance to learn something new and see what happens (and I realize this is possible b/c my dh makes a good living, and that I am very fortunate to even be talking about this idea); I actually think I might enjoy taking this one step at a time, and enjoy learning the parts, even though I will more than likely never have to use them again. But I will also suffer through a lot, because, I am a liberal arts gal and this is a science path.
I have been considering for about 2 months what I should do next. I dont feel like I can stay home full time anymore - I need a new goal. This could be to find a job teaching high school english, as Id intended, but Ive also been sifting through all the things I enjoy and trying to discern a career that includes all of the attributes of those things. I thought of Nutrition about a month ago, looked at the path, and turned away. But then for some reason this week it just became obvious; obvious that this is the path I have been on for several years and obvious that the process, although long and hard, could be a good experience just for the sake of undertaking it, even if I dont end up where I think I will. So Ive been researching it again; programs, variations, etc. And I have been surprised to learn that to get degreed as a registered dietitian, I have to take all the classes Dh took in med school, including o-Chem (O shit), Biochem, Microbio, plus the basics like anat/phys. Its overwhelming. Even Dh was surprised at the rigour involved.
So last night, he did something he has NEVER done. He studied the internet about a subject I am interested in! and he learned that if I do an M.S. instead of a B.S. in this, the program is actually less heavy in the hard sciences (1 semester of Ochem instead of 2, 1 of Chem, 1 of bio, etc). Basically, to get into the M.S. program, I need a bachelors of some sort plus a list of prerequisites, which turns out to be much shorter (lighter) than the list of classes in the program they offer for people who want to get a b.s. in nutrition but already have a bachelors in something. So Im excited to see if this is true, because that is much less daunting to me. He said he will go with me to the adviser to figure it all out. The other part of last night is that he had the idea to see if him working part time at the university hospital (where he trained, which is how he knew about this) might allow me to get decreased or free tuition, which is the case for full-timers at the hospital. If I could do this without paying so much it would make me feel a whole lot better!! He also said, "I cant believe we didnt think of this before, it seems like your life narrative has been leading to this" Which is how I have been feeling.
I still dont know. Its a lot to think about, and Im definitely scared, but I cant get away from that obvious feeling.
Jaygee - process over product. If you can manage it, you should pursue your interest, b/c you're going to be 50 either way, and 15 years to do that job is still a long time! Your dad and you continue to be in my thoughts
Off to meditate while dh does the drop off .....