Back To School!

The closer it gets to the Spring Semester, the more I ask myself what am I thinking?!  Do I actually think I can handle a college load in this stage of the game, especially after I have crossed over to the beginning of the "getting old" stage?  In the beginning, I was confronted with a few rude awakenings.  First to change was my vision.  It use to be so comical watching my Grandmother and my Mother hold paper ten feet away so they could read it, now it is my turn.  Not to mention the aches and pains and pains and aches which have become my all too familiar constant passenger. 

I never totally understood until well into my late 30's what my Grandmother meant by saying "keep living".  Not only has my vision changed, there is a marked gravitational pull on my body.  Oh, and those naps I use to hate when I was a girl has become a most precious commodity in my life. 

Somehow, just as many mid-lifers do, I became comfortable in my schedule which entails doing the same thing at the same time on a daily basis and anything that would dare to interfere with my schedule would come under scrutiny!

Then one day my health took a turn for the worst.  Being diagnosed with a chronic disease is very disappointing in that you go through a yo-yo of emotions.  Including the grieving process as if you have lost a friend.  In a sense, that is what happened to me.  I miss the old me.  I use to go, go, go and loved every minute of it.  Now, it takes time for me to just go.  Because my Grandmother instilled in me a "poop-or-get-off-the-pot mentality," I began to think of how I can take these cards I've been dealt and come up with a winning hand. 

Sometimes you need to recognize when you have the opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade.  Now that four of our six children are adults and the two youngest are in high school, I think this is the perfect time to go back to school and get my bachelor's in Sociology and then from there, Law School.  It has always been in me to fight for those who can not fight for themselves and being a lawyer was my original plan until my vocational rehab counselor discouraged me from pursing a career in law by informing me that "I am smart, but not smart enough to be a lawyer or a doctor, but I would be a good secretary."  Well, you can imagine that my self-esteem hit rock bottom and I did not dare to challenge his authority because after all, he was my counselor and he was doing what he thought was best for me, right?  WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!

One thing in life I have learned is; if you are going to dream, then dream BIG!
Muriel Burch