When I was a kid, I used to say I wanted to be a farmer. My mom would tell me how hard the work was, and I remember asking her "But I'm strong enough to do it, right?"
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I was an RPG computer programmer. In '90 & '93 I had my daughters and stayed home with them, and didn't work. DH's business was doing so well that thoughts of going back to programming were eventually "retired". My recent divorce though, devastated the once decent nest-egg.
I'm facing a new 30 yr jumbo mortgage, car loan, individual health insurance, etc. With one of the babies in college and another soon to go, expenses are so high that I'm dipping into savings each month. I've done about all I can do to reduce expenses except for downsizing, which I'm putting off because it would would be so especially hard on my girls
My girls and I do a lot now that honey-did or others had done. We rake, shovel (our butts off), unclog drains of hairballs, catch mice in the attic, etc. Sidenote: I liked hearing my 17 year old say "We can do anything!"
So in contrast to thinking of retirement, I'm wondering "How do I come out of retirement and get back into the work force after being out for 21 years?"