good morning sunshine.

Our friends shared some of their beautiful and delicious mandarins with us over the weekend. Oh my...are they ever good. And beautiful, too! Look at that color...so bright and cheery. It made me think about how good God is...to give us this little burst of cheery, vibrant color in the middle of a gray and dreary winter.

Happiness is there...sometimes we just have to look a bit closer.

Or maybe even take a step back and look at a bigger picture.

So I'm still not signed up for school. But I did spend the better part of my day yesterday gathering transcripts and such so that the guidance counselor can put together a couple of different major scenarios for me. I'm either going to major in psychology...because it's what I started with years and years ago. Or...social science...which I focused on later in life when I returned to school 12 years ago. I'm OK with either. I don't even really care what I major in...I just want to be DONE and have a B.A. I asked the counselor to find the quickest way to the end result...no messing around...no classes I don't need...etc.

So...since the counselor is out of the office today...and I work tomorrow...we're going to meet again on Monday and get this ball rolling. Not how I imagined it...but that's OK. I'm thinking there's a lesson in perseverance in here somewhere...so I will persevere. And push toward what I want...and not be discouraged just because it's not going how I envisioned it. Hmm...might even be a lesson in patience, too, while we're at it.

As it appears right now, glancing at units taken and transcripts, I'm probably looking at about two years of school. That's taking two classes every 8-9 weeks. That doesn't include the credential program I'll have to take after I've earned my B.A. But I can do that while I work as a special education teacher on a Waiver. Our district does that. So that's good. The credential program is about another year of schooling. And...I may even be able to earn a Masters while I'm earning my credential. It's a few more classes...I can't remember what she said. But I remember thinking, "That's not that much more time to put it while I'm already at it." So...it's an option. Money will be a factor. So we'll see.

When I stop and think about it...this is a really big deal. Big. HUGE. This is the next two years or OUR lives...mine, my husband's, my children's...with me being gone two nights a week and working really hard to become a college graduate. After I was done running all over gathering paperwork (well, and making a quick little stop at TJ Maxx....hey, it was right there!) I called Chris and said, "Are you sure you're up for this?". He was like, "ME? Are YOU up for it?!" I told him he'd be having to do my homework so he better get ready. Not really. But...like I said, this is a BIG deal. And we'll all be in it together. We'll all be affected.

But really...we'll be affected in a good way. This is going to be such a good thing. For me. I will finally have accomplished something I've wanted to accomplish for a long time. And I will finally have completed something, other than childbirth and only because I didn't have a choice! I will finally be a teacher...something I've wanted to be since I was a little girl.

Which reminds me...when I was younger I babysat all the time. And the summer between 8th and 9th grade I convinced my parent's to let me do something that I called Fun School in their garage. My mom and dad were so nice to let me do this. Mom parked her car out on the street. Dad helped me drag the picnic table and benches into the garage. I hung my poster board Fun School banner which instantly transformed the garage into a classroom. I invited all of the kids that I babysat for to come over Tuesdays and Thursdays for 2 hours in the morning. The moms loved it. They dropped the kids off...put a dollar or two in the coffee can and went off to run errands in peace. The kids and I would do crafts that I'd planned for in advance...we'd sing songs...play a game or two...then have a snack. And by the time we'd done all of this the mom's would begin arriving to pick up their kids. It was really fun...one of the mom's that I see on occasion still talks about it! Isn't that funny?

Anyway...those were fun times. And I envision being a teacher much the same way. Except for the money in the coffee can. And not in a garage! Well, and the fact that it takes a bit more than making a few phone calls and slapping a name on poster board.

Accomplishing this goal will also be such a good thing for my family. It will be good for Chris in that I will be able to help financially. Not only with a paycheck but also with really good benefits. It will be good for the boys because they will be able to see the value of a college education. And hopefully they will see that it is much more of a challenge to do it later in life and that doing it right out of high school will be the way to go. They will see that it pays off to work hard toward something. That goals can be accomplished. That it's never too late.