A home maker wants out

I'm a 40-year-old graduate with two daughters, aged seven and two. I'm a homemaker and have lived with my in-laws for 13 years. Last year, I lost my husband. I've invested the insurance money for my kids' future. I feel lonely and am still getting over the loss of my husband.
My family is well settled in their business and they take good care of me. But they are conservative. There have always been petty issues in the family but now I find that I am unable to cope. People expect me to act responsibly, but no one seems concerned about how I feel. So I spend time with my daughters, trying to fill the void. They keep me busy through the day, and my in-laws seem happier when the girls are around. I'm uncertain about my future. Not financially, but I wonder how long this can go on. At times, I feel like I should take up a teaching job and live elsewhere with my girls. I'm not sure how to take this up with the family, because in a way, they need me and the kids around. Can you please advise me on how I should approach the situation?
I find it silly when women empowerment issues are mongered in villages. It's obvious that the women who stand to truly benefit from such endeavours live in our cities. Humour aside, I sympathise with you. Now, to the solution.
Have you got a qualification to teach? Oh wait, this is India, anybody who knows where a school is can apply… Stop Ben! Must. Be. Serious. OK, you need to talk to the in-laws. Sure they are family but what kind of family doesn't stick by its members, traditions be damned. As Arturo Toscanini said, "Traditions are nothing but leftover habits from previous bad performances." They need to understand that you are not someone their late son brought home to breed and clean, but are an individual with her own ideas, goals, and decision-making capabilities.
Start by speaking to the person you are most comfortable with. Don't let it be your sister-in-law. I've seen too many Hindi TV serials to feel differently. They are all vile (sisters-in-law, TV serials, et al). Do your homework: find a suitable job. Try and ensure financial independence — through your investments, and what the job pays you — before you make this bold move. Inform them as a courtesy-cum-consent as opposed to seeking permission. If they don't seem sensitive, then your signals are not strong enough.
If they are not receptive to your plans, you should be in a position to support yourself and your two daughters, manage a place to stay as well as a daytime creche. On the bright side, if they accept this, what better use to put them to than grandparenting.
Your (and their) loss is irreplaceable. But while the departed rest peacefully, it is living that is insufferable. Time, a bad cosmetic surgeon, is a good healer. Coping with the loss may seem tough, but getting used to the idea of you employing yourself with anything may be tougher for them. Give them time to see things your way.