Second Bloom: transitions to new midlife vocations from mothering and homeschooling (a conversation series)

October 3, 2019

Like a lot of other homeschool moms and/or full time caregiving and homemaking mothers I find myself at the threshold of a significant transition in my life.

I am wrapping up what will be a sixteen year spell of homeschooling, graduating three kids from home-based education. And as the baby leaves childhood, two decades of my life committed to raising, educating, and making a home for my growing children is coming to an end.

I am finishing something significant. And I'm at the start of the next stage of my life.

For the past couple years I've been asking myself what's next? How do I get there? What do I want to "be" when I'm no longer a homeschool mom? What will I invest myself into when my childen are raised?

Personally and financially, I want a vocation, a career. God willing, I have a full second half of life awaiting me. What do I want to do with it? And what do I need to do now to start on that path?

Faced with these questions and this opportunity in front of me I thought why not ask other women how they have navigated a similar change in their lives?

What can I learn from the stories of other women's journeys across the threshold of full time mother, homemaker and homeschooler into second half of life careers and callings? What secrets might I glean? What wisdom or insight might I be able to apply to my own life and situation?

So I sought out women with this kind of life experience and story - a transition from mothering to post-mothering careers and vocations. I asked questions. I listened to their stories. I reflected on what they had to say and share.

I am delighted to present to you those interviews. I am delighted to offer you Second Bloom, a series of conversations with eight extraordinary, ordinary women.

Second Bloom is all about what comes next after a season of life committed to mothering, caregiving, homemaking, and in many cases homeschooling.

Some of the women I interviewed still have kids at home and are actively parenting tweens, teens and young adults; others have long launched the birds from the nest. Most homeschooled their children, for many years or a few years. Some are mothers of two or three, others are mothers of five and six children. Some are grandmothers.

What these women share in common is a strong commitment to that first career of homemaking and child raising. And then the life enriching experience of a second bloom in midlife. Where not only the kids spread their wings and fly, but so do they.

Meet Wanda, Nancy, Lisa, Lindsay, Krista, Jill, Corina, and Bethany. Women who have transitioned from homemaking and child-raising careers into training programs, bachelors, and masters degrees; women working in corporate professions, universities, and small businesses; writers, students, guides, helpers, musicians, designers, administrators, managers and healers.

Are you a mother nearing the end of active child-raising years, wondering what's next and how you get there?

Maybe you've been homeschooling kids for years and you're transitioning to a new chapter in your life, personally and professionally.

Are you a mother of younger children, still committed to your caregiving role, but wondering how you'll return to, or enter, the working world one day? Maybe you're concerned you'll be at a loss or disadvantage because of your child-raising years.

Maybe you're a person, regardless of life stage or roles, who likes personal stories and memoirs of change, transition, growth and stepping into new seasons of life.

Second Bloom is for you. I produced it for you. I produced it for me.

What can we learn together from the life experience and wisdom of these women's stories?

Join me at Patreon to find out.

Each conversation will be available as a podcast style audio recording for my Patreon community at the Courses & Workshops tier.

Along with each audio recording you'll receive a pdf download (a handout) with interview highlights, including key points and takeaways, reflection and application questions for your own life.

How it works at Patreon.

To access these interviews and downloads you sign up to become a Patron at the $20/month level. "Hold on!", you say. "I don't want to pay $20 every month just for 8 interviews!" Obviously, neither would I!

The eight conversations in Second Bloom will be released over the course of October 2019 to my Patreon community. You only need to be member for this one month to access Second Bloom.

Second Bloom is essentially a $20 course.

The interviews and handouts will always remain on my Patreon at the $20 month level, which means that you can join anytime you like, listen to the interviews, download the handouts, and then unsubscribe when you no longer want access.

You don't have to join this month but October 2019 is when the content will be released and when group engagement will be the highest. I would love to have some conversation with you around this topic and Patreon comments is a great place to do that.

Second Bloom has been a fun project to put together, the women are the kind of people I love to talk with, extraordinary ordinary people. I've personally gained so much from the interviews.

In 2022/2023, as I was in the Grad School phase of my own Second Bloom, I moved all these conversations to my blog. No Patreon support of membership required!

Bonus

When you become a patron, at any level of support ($5 or $20 are my current tiers) you gain access to everything I've ever published or released at that level. This means if you join to get access to the Second Bloom conversations at the $20 level, you also have access to my complete Freedom Education course released this spring, a $60 value!