I recently discovered that a number of universities have free online courses-- usually six to eight weeks long, and on most any topic you can imagine.  I'm fascinated by this.  I signed myself up for a few--one about food writing, and one about science-fiction and fantasy.  The second one is turning out to be a bit more time-consuming than I'd anticipated, but I'm enjoying stretching my brain this way.  We read one book a week, and write a small essay on a topic related to the reading.  It's been nearly twenty years since I wrote an essay, and I'm loving this.  I'm kind of proud of what I've produced, and I'm eager for feedback.  A small part of me would love to return to college, and actually do it properly this time.  Less fun, more studying.  I've considered going back to study library science, but at this point, I think our family would be better served if Jay got his masters, and if we saved for N to go to college eventually. I'll keep taking my freebie one-off classes, and sharpen my brain that way for now.