Am I been ungrateful

[Flipflop23]

feeling a little fragile so please be kind.
This is not empty nest syndrome
3 kids two have left home, still got a young teenager at some.
last 10 years been a SAHM due to the rural location we live in, needed to be able to get kids to clubs ect. No buses after 6.30pm so them sorting them selves out was not an option.
i used to be a nurse so have spent nearly all my life looking after people in one way or another. Including parents illnesses ect.
on one hand I know how lucky I am that financially I have been able to do this but now I just feel like a shell of a person, two older kids who have left live 100s of miles away. I have no friends, no transferable skills and I really don’t want to go back into my form of care work and quite frankly can’t be bothered to retrain and go back to uni ect.
been a SAHM feels like it was such a bad decision.
I know I could start clubs ect but actually feel like I have no interest in anything so wouldn’t know where to start.

Would fostering appeal? Either animal or human?

@Sheepsheepeverywhere in all honesty no, I feel like I’ve had the life sucked out of me caring for other people all the time.

Maybe you need to get out and meet some new people.

Is there a local WI you can pop along to?

Or something voluntary-lite ie a local national trust property, you could sell tickets, work in the gift shop, gardening etc.

Sometimes voluntary jobs turn into something more permanent.

Good luck, there's something for everyone.

Not ungrateful at all. There may be other ways to meet people. Would learning a skill or language appeal?

I don't really get what you're asking? You're bored now the kids are not your primary focus and what should you do? I mean, you're entitled to think it was a 'waste' to be a SAHM (for you, before any SAHP jump on me. I'm sure it's lovely and rewarding for a lot of people).

Make a list of stuff you like to do and do it. Even if it's just reading outside with a G&T. Do it. Don't pressure yourself into finding 'something' to do. Enjoy your downtime for a while.

I understand. You've never learned to put yourself first. I think you need to give yourself some time to find the real you inside you.

When you were in your teens, what sort of job did you think you'd like to do?

Go on holiday? I always find travelling gives me head space to plan life.

@OhComeOnFFS I always wanted to be a nurse, but I worked on the oncology ward and then a&e it was fabulous but draining, I now feel like I’ve spend 20+ years just looking after everyone between nursing, kids and

parents and don’t know who I am but on the other hand I feel ungrateful because I know lots of people would see my life and think it’s great.

Do something utterly selfish. Absolutely do not get sucked into a volunteer role where you won’t be able to stop yourself from taking on more care of people.

It’s not ungrateful to want a break from a lifetime of caring, at work and at home.