How time has flown- Liam will be starting half-day Kindergarten this fall. It’s hard to believe our “Little Guy” is going to be old enough for Kindergarten! It seems like just yesterday we were rocking him to sleep and changing his diapers, now he’s an independent five year old that is extremely excited about going to school. As he became more and more excited about starting school, I got excited about returning to my education.
In January, I started back to college to pursue my dream of becoming a nurse. In the past six and a half months I’ve crammed more information into my brain than I ever thought possible and look forward to continuing the trend for the next few years. I found that I really enjoyed being in the classroom again! And with my new found internal motivation, it was easier than I anticipated stepping back into the role of student and a “want” of knowledge burst forth that I didn’t realize I had.
Along the way I’ve had a plethora of "events": 2 full semesters- 1 regular spring, 1 accelerated summer; 1 broken nose courtesy of a snuggly 9 month old which brought about a 10 day unplanned vacation as I underwent surgery & recovery; a double birthday party to plan & throw for the kids; saying “good –bye” to a chunk of money to have air conditioning installed (which we did just in time for several weeks of 100 degree weather) in addition to filling the roles of employee, student, mother and wife. It hasn’t always been easy, but we’ve survived- we always do.
As time marched ever so speedily toward July we quickly realized that our lives were becoming out of balance, and fast! In addition to me now being in college along with working full time, Liam would be starting school AND Brian wants to take some classes through the community college to earn a web-design certificate which will nicely round out his Bachelors in software engineering. How would we continue to give the kids the individualized time and attention they need and deserve? How would we make sure everyone was where they needed to be at the appropriate time? Could we afford the extra expenses involved with our long commute coupled with driving multiple cars daily? I know these sound like fairly stupid questions, but when you consider that we put over 100 miles on our car in a single day between dropping off & picking up the kids from the sitters on top of getting ourselves to the office & back- we spend between 1.5 hrs and 3.5 hrs in the car each day! (Variations depend on whether Brian works on the weekend [which means he has a day off during the week so the kids stay home with him so I can drive directly to & from w/o having to go into town- Forshee-lead-foot can get me 45 minutes each way] & who’s driving each day [again, Forshee-lead-foot says it all, while other people who shall not be named specifically, have a bit more…” reserved” driving habits than I do- which added to driving into town & back out again to drop the kids off equals about 1-1.5 hrs each way].) Now you talk doubling these times (driving 2 separate cars), tripling gasoline expenses (the van uses 2x the gas as the car), and spending more & more time running around rather than with each other- this was fast becoming a problem.
We deliberated, discussed, agonized over and stressed about what we would do. Do I give up my dream and a future that would be far more beneficial for us as a family in favor of a short-term solution? Does Brian? Do we strain our family bonds in order to try to feel more “financially comfortable” as we complete our fields of study? We spent months exploring options, crunching numbers and praying for guidance. And after many months of worry, stress and self-doubt, we’ve made a decision…
Today I issued my 2 week notice of resignation to SBT.
Yes, our income will be cut almost in half. Yes, we’ll have to cut back on luxuries that we’ve taken for granted until now. Yes, paying back student loans will suck. Yes, it will be hard and, at times, stressful and will take a lot of careful planning and coordinating, communication and understanding to make sure we’re on top of things. But the long-term payoffs far outweigh these short-term setbacks. I’ll be able to continue to pursue my dream of becoming a nurse. I’ll be able to get Liam to & from school without inconveniencing other people to get it done. I’ll have more time to study and more time with Morgan. Brian will be able to continue working AND take a couple of night classes to work toward his goal certificate. And while there may be some minor setbacks along the way, as a family we will be far better off in the long run once both Brian & myself have completed schooling and are in our chosen careers.
We want to thank all of our family and friends who have been so supportive through this whole process. You’ve given us “food for thought”, encouragement, support and prayers- and we are grateful!
Wow! These types of decisions can be really hard (and stressful)! I'm so glad you've come to a decision and I know you will do great with the changes. That extra time with the kids will be SO worth the sacrifices you make.
ReplyDeleteI know you struggled with this decision! Been there, done that, and going back to school (at pretty much the same age as you), was the best thing I ever did. It is hard to give up the security of the present and go toward the unknown, but you will find ways to make it work, and the time will fly. We'll continue to keep you guys in our prayers, but know God will provide what you need and some "wants" will fall by the wayside and suddenly seem not so important. It takes big decisions to make dreams come true :) But your family will be much better as a result.
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