IT'S BEEN AWHILE FOLKS.....

Well hello world! I'm sure you thought I'd fallen off the face of the Earth. Not so...it's just been a busy year, this last one. So much has gone on & so much accomplished! Gotta feel good about that.

I left off a year ago telling you all about my "Prince Charming". Well...Prince Charming is still very much in the picture & we're still going strong. Life is good with PC. (From now on when I post about my wonderful man, I'll refer to him as "PC".)

And now a year later, here it is the start of another new school year. The big news for this year is I decided to go back to school. I started back in the latter half of the summer after being accepted to Liberty University. I am taking all my classes online & pursuing a Bachelors in Education. I won't be the traditional college student however in which I take my summers off. No sir...my plan is to take classes through the summers so I can obtain my degree in 3 years. I was doing the math the other day & realized my son will be graduating from high school the same year I'm graduating with my Bachelors in Education.

So you ask yourself, what in the world is a forty-something doing going back to school 25 yrs after graduating high school? The answer is easy. This is something I've wanted to do since graduating from high school. Back then circumstances prevented me from doing so. I never gave up on my dream though. And with God's blessing my dream has become a reality.

Once I've achieved my Bachelor's in Education, I will continue on & pursue my Masters in Teaching (Secondary Education). My goal is to teach high school (hopefully in the next 3-5 yrs). Along with my Bachelors, my studies will allow me to obtain a double minor...one in Psychology and the other in Special Ed.

So far, so good. I finished my 1st two courses over the Summer and currently hold a 3.50 GPA. I have started Fall classes and love the setup. I'm a full-time student. Online courses are different than resident courses. It's set up where the semester is broken into two sections. I take 2 courses every 8 wks. What that also means is that in 8 wks I'm covering the same amount of material that I would be over the entire semester if I were attending classes on campus. It's a lot more work but I love the fact it fits into my hectic lifestyle & work schedule.

I never thought I would ever see the day when my dream would become a reality. But now that it has, my goal is to outdo myself from my old high school days. You see, when I was in high school, I was an honor roll student. I was inducted into the National, English & Spanish honor societies. I was in the 1st 4-yr graduating class at my high school & was voted my high school's 1st Freshman class president. I made good grades back then in preparation for college after high school. So in achieving this milestone in my life now, I am striving to maintain 4.0 GPA status throughout my college career. The sky is the limit!

I've got something to prove to my kids. I've encouraged them and taught them all through their schooling careers the importance of school work, doing homework, studying and making good grades. It's always been a rule in our house that when they get home from school they get a snack and then get on their homework so that they can have the rest of their evening free to do what they wish. It's worked out pretty well considering one of mine has already graduated and my other two are in middle & high school & their lives are filled with lots of extra-curricular activities. All the more reason why it's important to keep to this. They are at the point now where I don't even have to remind them anymore it's become such second nature to them. And it goes without saying how very proud I am of them.

This has always been my favorite time of year but this year in particular it is even more meaningful. I'm thrilled to be back in school after all these years. I'm equally thrilled that my college career is off to a wonderful start.

Well...gotta run...gotta hit the books! (I just love saying that!) Until next time.....