A bit of background. I've got two children, aged 4 years and 7 months. I worked FT until I had DS1, but haven't worked since. We were living in the US at the time of DS1's birth and to keep my job I'd have had to be back at work FT when he was just 12 weeks old and there was no way I wanted that, so I lost my job.
After a year at home with him I'd have been happy to go back PT, but of course I didn't have a job to go to. Plus, I'd worked in finance and in late 2008 when I was ready to go back no one was hiring. At the end of 2009 we moved back to the UK and we wanted to try for another child so I didn't start looking for work. DS2 was born in May 2011.
Since his birth I've been thinking a lot about what to do about my dead-in-the-water 'career'. Before I had my DC I worked in private equity fund management as the assistant to an MD. I liked the job I had and would be happy to do something similar again. However, I haven't worked in the UK for eight years and I haven't worked at all for the past four and I feel desperately out of touch. The last time I worked in the UK I was in financial publishing and I have no intention of going back to that - so my relevant contacts in the industry are all in New York.
I find myself going round and round in circles in my head and the conclusion is always that I'll never get back into work again and I'll be one of those women who are defined by their children. It's not that I dislike being a SAHM - I actually quite like it a lot of the time - but I can't see myself just pottering about at home forever - particularly once both boys are at school full-time. I also miss the office banter, the intellectual stimulation and the social aspect of work.
If anyone has found themselves in a similar situation (and has managed to read all that), I'd love to hear how you got back into work or how you plan to do so.