Registration

School starts on Monday so I had to go pay the university with my first born child and my left arm, all for one class.

I have been driving myself, my husband, I'm sure my babysitters, and the financial aid office crazy the past few weeks. First off I was shocked I received financial aid at all. I found out that the amount I was awarded was contingent on six credits, I'm only taking four. So I received a reduction in the amount which left me with almost $500 to come up with to take my News Reporting and Writing class.

I looked into what the difference would be if I took one more class so I could get the full amount. Most classes are three credits so that would've put me at seven credits. At $236 a credit I was looking at having to come up with $700 instead of $500 if I did that.

The money wasn't that big of deal we had a way to pay for the extra class, babysitters lined up to watch the few kids not in school those extra days, and car pooling set up for transportation. The one thing that kept changing my mind was; how much time is this going to take away from my family? Besides the actual class time away I would have had to spend more study time away from them as well. With my Reporting class having a lab it was like two classes already; on Wednesdays I will be in school all day with class and lab.

I am so excited to go back to school and have something all to myself that helps me to grow. No matter how big of a mid-life crisis I am having trying to recapture my youth through going back to college, I am still a mother and wife and I don't wish that away.

At registration today I had to go in the financial aid office and let them know they needed to lower my award back down to accommodate the four credits. The guy helping me laughed and said, "That's funny because I just raised it, again, this morning." I felt a little flaky but I told him I just couldn't commit to that many credits at this time and I didn't want to jeopardize my standing with the financial aid office with making bad grades. He just smiled and made the changes.

I may be flaky going back and forth four times with four credits then seven, I think I even jumped it up to nine credits at one point. I am just glad in the end I feel good about holding back and making my family my priority and not my education.

In about three years when Bear is in the first grade I will have more time to myself. That is when I can choose to take more classes, but until then I am enjoying the journey.