In parenting, the days are long and the years are short

I just read this comment on one of my Facebook friend's wall, and the words cut me like a knife. After much consideration and weighing my options, I've recently decided to stop working part-time and stay home with the kids. And I'm finally going to seriously pursue my bachelors degree fulltime. I'm sure many are thinking How's she going to manage college if they can't afford daycare, or she wants to spend time with her kids? Enter the beauty of an accelerated-evening curriculum, oh and student loans. I'll be the first to admit that 31 isn't the ideal time in one's life to pursue a degree, but then again-most things that happen in life aren't "ideal".

With the help of my associates degree, it should take me about 2 years to complete my degree-2 years, that's it. Ainslee will be 3, will be entering the public pre-k program within a year, and will make up the bulk of our daycare expenses. Alex will be 7 and Laura 5. . . . that thought is so daunting to me, almost all of my kids will be in school by then. It's daunting, but that is the very reason I decided to stop working-that and the thought of paying others to watch my children while we break even w/ daycare costs wasn't an option for us.

So if all goes as planned, just about the time Ainslee's hoping on that bus, and I'm strolling back up the driveway on the verge of a mental breakdown, I'll hopefully be landing myself a "real" job-with hopes of paying off that student loan by the time they all graduate from high school!

In all seriousness, time goes by too fast-I want to enjoy my kids while they are young. I also want to pursue my own career/education goals, so when they are all off to school I can enter the wide wide work world w/ a degree, because not many places are hiring w/ much less. Now seems like the right time for me to have the best of both worlds-godspeed to us!