College Mom!

     Sixteen years ago I was so proud to be walking across the stage of the high school gym receiving my diploma for I wasn't sure what the future held, I just knew I was so blessed to have made it past the last four years. I wanted to find true love, have babies, and have a home of my own.  In my mind finding my love would be my future. For as young as I can remember I wanted to be a teacher!  I played school so much as a kid.  My grandparents were my best students!  I lost myself during my teen years.  I had to grow up fast once I turned 16.  I thought I held so much control of my life.
     College was something I thought only the smart kids did.  I knew my parents didn't go to college and we lived!  It wasn't until 2010, twelve years into my marriage and two children later when life hit us in a terrible way, that I then found out first hand how hard life was for my parents.  It was then when I realized that college was survival.  Kelley (my husband) worked for the prison for eleven years.  People were losing jobs, due to the economy.  In our minds, there would always be prisoners, there was no way his job would be at risk.  Kelley was the manager of the warehouse for the boot factory, where the inmates worked making boots.  The state thought it would be cheaper for them to buy boots from China, than it was to have a up running boot factory.  Kelley was laid off September 1st, 2010.  All we had ever known was gone.  Our security of health and life insurance, and retirement was gone.
     After putting our house up for sale and moving our family, five hours away for a year, our house didn't sale.  With two fallen through contracts we had enough.  So back to our home we came.  God gave us life lessons and I am not going to ever forget what they where.  Family is the most important thing to me.  No job should ever take away from what our family has created.  Our marriage was based on a family, not our income.  Having no college degree Kelley had to work nights, our kids only got to see him for about 4 hours during the week.  It made us all so sad.  I put my foot down and said "Nothing is worth time spent away from our family." With my heartbroken I knew that we had to come back to Pampa.  I never want my life in the hands of money again.  I will stand on my life's favorite scripture:

2 Corinthians 5:7

⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight.

     Two weeks ago I started my freshman year in college!! (Man that sounds so strange!) I am a mother of THREE... I am a WIFE... And  I am loving it!  I have a plan to one day have someone help clean my house, like I have helped so many do in the past eight years.  2018 will be another proud moment in my life as I walk across another stage!  This time I will have my wonderful kids watching.  I want them to know that college isn't an option.  It is the way of life and that I did it with their help!

     I have had 13 assignments, 2 quizzes, 1 project, and 1 paper already due this first 2 weeks.  Guess what?  All have been 100's except for a quiz that I made a 93 on!! I AM DOING THIS!! Better than I have ever imagined doing! Never give up!  I thought I was to old.. Nope, I am just wiser!  Time marches on, but you never lose what your mind can do!  I will be blogging a lot about my experiences, I never want to forget how special my family have been walking next to me on this road.