Wednesday, January 9, 2008

I Got A College Boy For Christmas!

Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a teensy bit...actually, The Husband has enrolled in college and is going back to school after nearly twenty years, but I can pretend, can't I?

I am extremely proud of him for taking what must be a scary leap back into academia. When he and his now ex-wife were freshmen in college, she got pregnant and he dropped out of school to marry her, get a job, support his family, and pay for her continuing education at the expense of his own. She eventually went on to get a master's degree before unceremoniously dumping and divorcing him when she was done with school (not unlike many men do to their first wives). She's a real class act.

Since his accident last year, the chances of his getting back into the predominately physical line of work he used to do is pretty much nil; it seemed, to me, the logical thing to do was for all of us to bite the bullet and send him back to school. It wasn't an easy decision. On the one hand, we are totally broke and could really use the money any McJob he could get would bring in; that would benefit us in the short-term. However, on the other hand, it's unlikely any McJob he can get would provide benefits or any long-term job stability; certainly nothing like someone with a college degree could get. After much discussion and going back and forth, we came to the conclusion to go for it.

He had his first classes today and came straight home from school and did his homework like a good student should, heh. I am positive he will do very well; mature students have a better work ethic than most teenagers (maybe because they know what's out there waiting for them if they don't give it 100%). I am willing to live through a couple of years of hard times financially for the promise of a better future for all of us. I hope it's worth it!

2 comments:

BetteJo said...

That's terrific! Congrats on the brave decision to your hubs! And really, what a wonderful example to your kids as well. Hell, I'M proud of him!

kenju said...

My 38 year old daughter just went back to school too. I'm very proud of her, since she has 7 children to take care of. She decided to become a labor and delivery nurse.

My best wishes to your husband!