Got My Feet Under Me Again

Ahhh... I love being back in school!

You just don't even realize how complacent you become... how very lethargic... when you don't have something to drive you.

When I went back to school last year (quitting a job for the first time in my entire adult life) it was to fill a need in myself so great I couldn't hold it back anymore.

I'd dedicated my life to working whatever job I needed to in order to support my children and I'm very proud of that fact.

However, the back office duties and pathetic pay grades were so frustrating. Management relied so heavily on me in every job to help them gather data, compile reports, write letters and proposals, reorganize departmental processes and procedures... and yet, I was always broke and had nothing to show for it. I was gone long hours and couldn't afford any luxuries for my family.

I wanted more for the kids' lives and my own.

So, I went back to school full time last year. Oh, that first semester was so exciting!! I hadn't been in school in 16 years (OMG, did I just type that?!?!) and was afraid I would be too "rusty". I just knew I wouldn't remember anything!!

I didn't have any study skills (if I ever did) and hadn't had to retain volumes of new info in a long, long time. Maybe I'd forgotten basic grammar rules thanks to Net Speak??

It was intimidating to go back to school where I would be in the habitat of the young, trendy, and smart kids fresh out of high school.

Much to my satisfaction, I finished my first semester with a 4.0. I made lots of new friends/acquaintances and restored my faith in my own potential.

And, then... *deep sigh*... at the end of the FIRST week of the second semester... ARGH!!

I had an accident. Dislocated & broke my shoulder... it sucked. It was a pretty bad break... and recuperation took forever. However, I got really intimate with my new friend, Percocet!! :o)

During the healing process, scar tissue formed all over my shoulder and "froze" the joint... just to add insult to injury... LITERALLY.

I missed too much time and had to withdraw from all of my classes. I had to admit I wasn't as tough as I wanted to believe and just wait for my shoulder to heal.

Now, 7 months after my accident, I'm finally back in class and it's awesome!!

This first day back was exhausting... the shoulder's still a problem, but I'm not going to let it stop me.

This last year I've been able to be home with my kids for the first time in their whole lives... I've finally gotten to take them to and from school, to extra curricular activities, to hang out and do whatever we wanted. It has been fantastic.

Getting to go back to school to continue my education is like icing on the cake.

The finances are just as much a struggle now as they've ever been... probably more so... but it's been worth every bit of extra budgeting!!