After graduating from high school in 1996, having four children, getting married, and stumbling through eleven years worth of dead end jobs, I made one of the most difficult decisions of my life and decided to return to college. So, here I am, almost two months after I started as a 29-year-old freshman, wondering how in the world other parents do the same thing I am doing without devouring sedatives like Valium in heavy doses!
Due to requirements set forth by my university concerning receipt of financial aid funds, I am taking twelve hours this semester, which is considered to be a "full load." I drag myself to six classes each week, three of which overwhelm me on a regular basis with stacks upon stacks of homework and reading assignments. I actually enjoy attending school again, so I don't mind the homework that much. It's just the chaos that ensues when you mix calculating Chemistry formulas with carrying out the functions of everyday responsibilities at home that exhausts me! Aside from the normal laundry, finance management, meal planning, blah, blah, blah that is involved in keeping our home running like a fine-tuned machine, there are huge kinks thrown into the pattern with children's activities and school functions. Being the glutten for punishment that I keep proving to be, I thought that my two school-aged children should participate in some type of extracurricular activity that I could participate in with them so they would not feel left out in the whole busy shuffle created by mom going back to school. So, Kane, my ten-year-old son, chose to join Cub Scouts this year, which I encouraged whole-heartedly. Katlynn, my oldest daughter who only has six tender years of life under her belt, is participating in a group called Just Girls, which is similar to Girl Scouts. Aside from their individual group involvements, they both attend a two hour Sunday school type of activity called Kid's Time. Now, every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoon is occupied by activities and meetings, which leaves me asking myself, "Did I really ask for this?"
To add some spice into the mixture, I will be have no choice but to find a job in the very near future, which will only deprive me of more study time. However, with six members in our family, my husband's income, although it is decent, is not enough to sustain the financial needs of the household. We have an online candle store that was opened on September 19, 2007, but as of yet, it has not taken off successfully, so the income generated from it is not enough to assist my husband in his efforts to support us all.
So, soon, my weekly schedule will be jam-packed with going to class, attending Just Girls and Cub Scouts meetings along with assisting my children participate in the various activities of each organization, finding a job and then going to work, studying, and going to church while still attempting to maintain some sort of equilibrium in the controlled chaos we call home. Yes, a survival guide to direct me through it all would be wonderful. Then again, would I even have time to read it if I had it?
