I'm Back...Finally!

I have to breathe a sigh of relief here. I've been absent from my writing for nearly a year now, but it's with good cause. So, I'm hoping that those of you who read me before will catch up where we left off.

Why the hiatus?

As some of you know, I went back to school...in my 40's. I'm not going to lie, I didn't think it would be as hard as it was. But let me tell you, this has been my biggest accomplishment. (I'd normally say my kids are my biggest accomplishment, but I'm not through with them yet!) So let me tell you what's been going on for the last couple of years, and then I'll get back to writing about the good stuff...my boys.

There were some major struggles with my deciding to go back to school:

1) The most significant one being, our family income was reduced by half. This meant my husband had to step up to pick up the slack. And he did. Without complaint...at least not to my face.

2) It also meant I had to go back to waiting tables...which meant working weekends and nights. Not so fun for my boys during school, when that's the only time I got to see them in the first place. Not fun for this old body either. I'd get home from work and could feel my heartbeat in my feet.

3) Smaller income meant being creative to keep our household within budget. I became a coupon queen! I'd get a small rush when I looked at our grocery bill and I had saved 25%. Unfortunately, hamburger helper and pasta became a staple and fresh produce a treat.

3) Trying to juggle family time, work, homework, and household chores. I didn't have a single free minute in my life, and I'm not exaggerating. When I got home from class, I picked up the boys, made supper, tried to do some housework, help the boys with their homework, and my homework started after 9PM and usually went until midnight. Then up at 5:30AM to get the boys to school before I had to go to school and then do it all over again that night.

4) We had no health insurance. I was able to get the boys on a program that at least covered some of the costs, but my husband and I became paranoid at walking on too icy of sidewalks during the winter. We just couldn't afford to fall and get hurt.

5) Problems 1-4 created a need for blood pressure medication.

6) Trying to multi-task, I'd take my kids to the park, but with the warning that swings were off limits because they required me to push them, and I was there to study and/or do homework on the bench.

7) My last quarter of school required a full-time internship position, which lead to an even greater reduction of income, because I couldn't physically create more hours in a week that allowed me to work AND do all of the above, even part-time.

8) My working in an actual clinic caused my dogs to sniff me like a package of raw meat and then shun me the rest of the night because I "cheated" on them.

And you were where, today? Yeah, right.

9) I also was not an active participant in supper-time conversations because my clinic work stories caused gagging and loss of appetite.

10) Going to school made me realize that the older I get, the harder I had to work at remember things. Hell, I can't remember what I ate last meal let alone whether a bacteria was gram-positive or gram-negative.

11) I lost the ability to relax. If I had free time, then I must be forgetting to do something.

But we all survived. My family was amazingly understanding (most of the time). And I now have a degree in veterinary technology. I graduated with honors and a GPA of 3.76, which isn't too bad for an old lady like me. And at the graduation ceremony, the loudest cheers came from my kids.

And best of all, the clinic I interned at, 'created' a job for me so I could stay there! Now I just have to pass my boards...

But enough...I can't wait to get back to writing. And I have SO much to write about, so much that I haven't had the time to put down in words. The kids have grown in the last 2 years, and still give me some amazing and humorous stories. So I hope you'll "stay tuned" as the saying goes, as I play catch-up in my next posts!