COLLEGE! {Part 1}

Not in a million years would I have ever guessed I would be going back to school.  After graduating from high school I was DONE!  Sure, I took a couple classes at the local community college… Photography and American Sign Language.  I think I took a College Skills class as well.  Nothing too major. 

Then I got married.  You know what comes after marriage… the baby in a baby carriage. 

So I quit. 

And no, I wasn’t sad.  Not the tiniest bit! 

My family was started and we were going to be ok.  I would be the stay at home mom and Anthony would work.  It was planned that way from the beginning. 

Anthony had never been to school either beyond high school.  He went on a mission, got home and got a job, started dating me, we got married, and then he started a couple of classes at the community college as well. 

Just before Miss K was going to turn a year old we moved to South Carolina with my parents.  They were moving there for my dad’s job and we didn’t have anything tying us down here in Utah so we went.  It probably wouldn’t have been something we would have even considered if not for the fact that Anthony had served his mission there.  He had always wanted go back and live there for a while… this was our chance! 

He continued school at a college there in Florence, SC.  He wanted to be an architect.  I continued being a SAHM.  We lived there for almost 2 years with my family.  Anthony worked at Sears as a salesman and was called as the Seminary teacher for the kids in our branch.  There were a whopping 3 of them, my sister and two other girls (they were sisters).  But he LOVED it! 

When my dad lost his job and they decided to move back here to Utah we considered moving out on our own with our then two kids.  We had talked about what we would do if a situation such as this arose.  We would stay.  But when it came down to it, we knew we wouldn’t be able to afford to stay on our own.  Plus, I just really didn’t want to stay without my family.  I knew it would be really hard on me.  We would miss so much in Utah… birthdays, weddings, Thanksgivings, Christmases, barbecues, reunions, and so much more.  I wanted to be able to be a part of those things.  I wanted my kids to know their cousins and be part of their lives.  Anthony knew transferring his credits back to the college in Utah would be a hassle and that most of the credits that he’d completed wouldn’t transfer.  Some he had already done twice because they didn’t transfer from Utah to SC. 

I won. 

Had we been able to afford to stay I am pretty sure I would have lost that battle.  But there was just no way. 

Anthony was right, many of the credits wouldn’t transfer.  He was frustrated and we just needed money.  His job had him working late hours sometimes.  School was not an option right then. 

Things started looking up for us financially when we started our own business in 2005.  Everything looked to be on the up and up for a couple of years…

But the economy had a different idea in mind. 

Since that time, it’s been rough for us.  The economy has hit us hard and we have been struggling for years.  We’ve toyed around with the idea of Anthony going back to school since that time but when it came down to it, the time just wasn’t right.  He needed to work as much as possible for whatever little bit of money he could get.  So, he has. 

Then, about a year ago I looked into school for myself.  It’s not something that I ever even WANTED!  I never had a desire to go to college.  Then this weird thing called homeschooling happened.  It has opened my eyes to a new world of learning and actually enjoying it!  It’s possible! 

However, the time wasn’t right.  All the degrees I looked into at the community college required at least some courses being taken at the school.  I needed online only. 

{{… to be continued…}}

{Click to see Part 2}