I've been reading quite a bit on this subject lately

Last weekend I started reading "I Don't Know How She Does It" by Allison Pearson, which is supposed to be a funny account of the life of a more-than-full-time-working-mom, but which I find quite depressing (just as I did "The Nanny Diaries.")

And then, today, The Anchoress had an interesting piece on the same topic.

I'm one who, when I revealed my plans to stay at home with my children to a friend who was rather surprised at my "planned and wanted" pregnancy with Big Brother, was accused of "wasting my education."

Yes, I have a Master's degree from a prestigious university. It qualifies me to teach English on a college level, and I'm certified to teach secondary grades as well. But nothing about my education DISqualifies me from hugging my kids, planning and cooking their meals, taking care of my home, volunteering in their school, reading stories to Little Brother, building block towers, doing piles of laundry, cleaning toilets, helping with homework, or doing any of the other miscellaneous tasks that make up my day--no, my vocation--as a wife and mother.

I guess Big Daddy is wasting his education too, as he is not employed as a meteorologist but instead as a computer programmer. I actually know very few people who are employed in the same field they planned to work in while they were still students. Over time, we grow and change. And nothing we learn is ever wasted, whether we use it for personal profit or not.