I think many of us learned a whole lot about ourselves, our spouses, our parents and siblings, etc., etc. from our research to try to help our kids. I know I did, and it's a common comment here.
That's so true! I wish I had used my college experiences to learn more about myself. "Strategic" is my #1 strength-finders attribute, and I spent life until I was 30 singularly-focused. I *knew* I was going to be a corporate lawyer when I was 12 (a joke, since you don't know what it really involves until you are one!), so my college majors, extracurriculars, jobs, even law school classes were all focused on that. (Why, oh why, did I voluntarily suffer through Secured Transactions and 3 semesters of tax law when I could've been having fun with Shakespeare & the Law??) I had a wonderful career before I gave it up, but probably want to switch gears and get involved with something related to gifted/early education when my children are off on their own someday.
At this point, I am thinking of a "third career" as a Head Start volunteer or gifted education teacher. Our family has been so incredibly blessed with these gifts, and I'd like to be able to continue to give back with all that I'm learning. I don't see that happening for another 15-20 years, though. As my husband recently put it one evening after we had been talking about DSs' education, "it takes a lot of energy to be the parents of gifted children!" LOL
