We all graduate high school expecting to get a college education, find a career and then have babies. BUT life has it’s own way of working and there is no right or wrong way to do any of these things. Of course we want our little ones to be responsible when they get older and we are all guilty of telling them the order they need things to be done.
I am that person that did everything completely backwards! I started college and was no where near being done when I found out I was going to have a bundle of joy. Of course fear set in and I had my doubts about becoming a mother before finishing college because society expects you to be financially prepared to take on a child. BUT we made it work then and still do now. Life would be boring without our sassy Lina!
All that being said, I picked up my firecracker from school and she was so upset with her friends. She was so excited to tell them that her mommy goes to school and their reaction was not what she expected. Their replies were, “no she doesn’t mommy’s don’t go to school”. These reactions upset her so much she was nearly in tears in the car trying to tell the story. She was so cute and defensive about the whole situation, I couldn’t help but feel my heart warm up to know my little one was being so protective of me.
The best way I could explain this situation to her was – some mommy’s and daddy’s finish school before others and mommy wanted to stay with you longer so now I have to finish going to school. I also had to make sure to reiterate to her that it’s okay if her friends didn’t understand that and there is nothing wrong with mommy still going to school.
I am guilty of always complaining that I need to hurry up and finish going to school so I can be done, but this whole situation opened up my eyes. As much as we all would like to rush through it, I feel like there are a few things we need to remind ourselves:
- School will always be around, it’s okay to take as much time as needed to finish. Once we finish being a student, we continue being an employee, not much will change.
- Our children don’t stay little forever – CHERISH EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. It sounds so cliché, but it’s nothing but the truth.
- Don’t rush or feel pressured to figure out what you want to be when you grow up – it takes time to figure it out. At the current age of 27 I still feel like I am trying to figure it out and there is nothing wrong with that.
- The longer you take, the longer time you have until you have to pay your student loans! haha But seriously – the minute you finish, you better be ready for those loans to come due.
- All the stress and the busy days/nights will be worth it in the end! Our kids look up to us and we want to be a positive role model for them. They keep us motivated while in school. Every school night before I have to go to school, Alina will ALWAYS tell me that she wants to see me graduate! Literally makes my eyes water every single time. She got the pleasure of seeing her Dad graduate a year ago with his Bachelor’s and now mom is up next!
As parents in school, we have the best fans sitting in the bleachers to watch us receive our diplomas. So on that note – keep up your good work, pass on your drive to your children and make them proud of you because to them we are all super moms and super dads!
xoxo Renee