I know this may sound very old fashioned, but I just want to be a stay at home wife. Take care of my husband and house. I love to have dinners ready when he gets home and have the house clean.
Seriously! I know you're all thinking, "whats wrong with me". But it's true, that's what I want.
I don't care about being famous or wealthy or anything like that. I just want my husband and my health and what other blessings I get!

Fitintime -- not at all The sad part is I worked full time until I had my first son and thought stay at home's were pretty free to do what they want, have a very mellow day, etc. Then I quit working full time (I work part-time from home at night) and stayed home with my son and second son when he came along. My gosh -- what a crazy day to keep a house running and everyone happy. I made meals, did laundry, etc. when I worked but it's nothing compared to now. I'll admit our dinners are much better now because I have the time to prepare something nice, but the running around the kids and keeping up the house drive me crazy, especially the fact it's not a 9 to 5 day. I do enjoy having the freedom to work on whatever task I want to and not being told what to do. I wouldn't trade being able to stay home with the kids for anything but I do miss a little more adult contact!! I'm sure when they are both in school and I go back to work I'll regret that!!!

I think we are all very different. I have no desires to be rich or famous, although money does help with many things

Personally, I really enjoy working. I couldn't imagine being a stay at home wife or mom, or even being fully retired. One reason I don't think DH and I will have kids is because he told me that he would expect one of us to stay home and take care of them, at least in the younger years. I don't think it would be him and its not going to be me so.... there is that

I think I have created a new goal/dream job but not sure how exactly I will execute it. My dream is to open up an animal shelter/rescue that can take care of hundreds of animals in a loving environment. I think I can make it part of my retirement plan if I work towards it so I think that I am going to at least try to see if it is possible, at least on some scale. My dream is to make it possible on a large scale but I may be able to make it possible on a smaller scale. We'll see

FitinTime, I was having trouble thinking about what direction I want to take my career, or if I want to change careers, a while ago. I asked some friends for advice. I listed out all the things I enjoy doing, and asked them to come up with jobs that fit those things. One of my good friends came back and said "I think the job that fits your interests the most is mom/housewife!"

So I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Hi Ladies!
I guess what it is with me is that my first job was a hairstylist and the lifestyle that comes with that is fast. I partied more than worked. For me it was crazy, then I got out of that and worked for Honeywell at night to get myself out of that mode. Well that didn't work, it was just as bad.
So when I met my husband, I just automatically fell into the housewife role, naturally.
Another thing is we don't have children, not by choice, but it just hasn't happend.
So when I get things done at home, I'm basically free to go here and there if I want to. But most of the time, I like being at home enjoying my quiet time.
I feel organzied when my house is clean and that makes me calm, lol!
And since I've been dieting, or I should say, changing my way of eating, I have alot more energy where now I'm cooking more than usual.
So I admire you Ladies for what you do and what you want to accomplish, I think it's great. I really think it's fantastic to Nelie that you would like to open up an animal shelter. The poor animals that nobody wants it terrible to see that.
Shelby and Paperclippy, thanks for the support, I appreciate that.

I've worked for one for almost 7 years. It's a lot more work than people think. The paperwork involved when you're using various grant funds (applying for them, reporting for them, etc.) is insane...and every funder has their own set of rules and expectations. I'm not a director...I wouldn't want to be...my boss is extremely stressed, has way too much work to deal with (we all do), plus the added stress of our board of directors that are a combination of totally ignorant of what we do day-to-day, on ego trips, no credentials or experience to be in the position they're in or to offer any useful assistance, and a couple of them are blatantly and harmfully hostile. I told my boss 6 months after I started working for her that I wouldn't want her job for a million dollars. The funny thing is, that despite the craziness, the pay that is lower than what comparable jobs would pay if I actually worked in Manhattan, and the fact that there are no benefits whatsoever and I pay for my own medical, I've stayed basically because I like what I'm doing, our group works well together and gets along, it's within walking distance of where I live, I can dress casually, and there's a certain level of informality or less rigidity than I found in the corporate setting. It's actually a job that's suited my temperament, strengths and personality. And we have to wear so many different hats and do so many different types of tasks, that it's more exhausting than boring.

Nelie -- contact your local animal shelter, ours are always looking for foster homes for puppies/kittens, etc. -- I would love to do that if I had the room (I just don't know if I would ever want to adopt one of them out!!!) Just a little way to get started.