My Life as a Veteran College Girl

You know what the toughest part about being in college at 31 is?

It's being 31 with a marriage, children, real adult responsibilities...oh...and class with 21 year olds who think they know everything.....(was I THAT stupid when I was 21?!?! yes...yes I was).

Actually...

I may have been stupid, but I had discipline dammit!

At 21, I was getting ready to go on my first deployment...I made my own money...I had my own insurance...I had real life responsibilities....I was a Marine....

So....I may have been stupid...but not as irresponsible and naive like my "fellow classmates" today....

I don't pull all nighters, because frankly, at 31, I need way more sleep than I did when I was 21. 

If I don't get a good night's sleep, I end up being the grouchiest and unpleasant mother and wife imaginable (to put it nicely). 

So my studying and reading HAVE to be done before 10pm.

Sorry....not staying up past 10 because I need to study.

Did I mention, I am taking 18 hours this semester?

On any given day, you can catch me reading while cooking....reading while I sit at Dannika's gymnastics class...researching and googling things at the grocery store while I'm shopping.

Nick came home late from class one day to me sitting in the dining room, reading my textbook, while my son was happily jumping up and down beside me on the table...

I have become an expert multitasker.

Today...I wrote a paper while entertaining a 1 year old....

For real...

#collegemomprobs

yes, that's Sriracha on my desk. I eat my hard boiled eggs after the gym at my desk when I'm studying or doing stuff on the computer, and I like my eggs with Sriracha.

 Mattis did not care that mommy needed to write a paper on the allegory between The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the Populist movement of the late 1800's and early 1900's....

 I got a lot of research and writing done for an hour with this little monster sitting in my office with me....bothering me....pestering me for attention...

Then Nick finally got home to let me finish up.

Would it be nice to be going to college like a "normal" college student?

Yes.

But man...

I am SO GLAD that I spent my early 20's in the Marine Corps and not in college.

I had no patience, drive, or discipline in my early adult years.

I have a perspective at 31 years old that my fellow classmates don't have, and I see it as a great advantage. 

But honestly...

Some days....it sounds really nice to sleep in, roll out of bed, go to class in pajama pants, come home, and study whenever I feel like...without worrying about picking up the kids from school, taking the kids to gymnastics and dance...

Marriage is work too...

I'm truly blessed though...

Happy marriage, awesome husband, awesome kids, beautiful home, Texas, FREE college (that I have no shame in saying that I earned and worked my butt off to get).

Life's pretty awesome.

 Oh...and we have awesome neighbors...

One of our neighbors is a Kindergarten teacher, and she got baby chicks for her Kindergarten class!

We had a lot of fun playing with them tonight!