About three months ago, I started taking college courses online to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management. It was a move that is designed to marry my experience working in hospital settings (during my twenties) and my information technology experience (which began in my mid thirties). So far, the two classes I have taken this semester have been manageable in conjunction with my job and my home life. I am happy to report that, as of this writing, I am maintaining a 97% average in both of my classes.
This is due in no small part to the support of my wife, Renee. She made a lot of phone calls and did an amazing amount of legwork to get me rolling. Once, I got started she has done her best to be sure I have a good environment in which to do my homework. She even prints my test scores and puts them on the refrigerator next to the macaroni art. OK, that part isn’t true but you get the picture.
My wife informed me just as I was starting college again that she was making plans of her own. She told me she was planning to enroll in college herself to pursue a degree in social work. She wants to provide advocacy and support for families with special needs children. You could have knocked me over with a feather. This is assuming that the feather was six feet long, weighed about ten pounds and was made of lead. Just as I thought everything was beginning to slow down and settle a bit. My industrious and (seemingly) impetuous wife has thrown another rock into the river. I am still not quite sure why this rock gave me such a jolt. After all, a ripple in the river is hardly a hurricane on the coast.
My wife has just received news of her acceptance into Empire State College. This means that starting January 2011, out of a family of six, five are college students. My youngest, Caleb, won’t be far behind as he graduates high school in the spring. My older daughter, Shayna, will be graduating college at the same time. It is almost as if Shayna is opening a spot for Caleb to fill.
I have made jokes over the past couple of days that, come January, I am going to be running around with a college girl. Mind you, such a remark is designed to add some levity (and perhaps feed my mid-forties ego). The truth is, I see my wife’s approach and I see someone driven and focused with her eyes on the proverbial prize. She is in many ways the same woman I have been looking at for the last nineteen years. Yet, she is very different. It is very easy to see a ripple in the river and curse the waves rather than observe and embrace the beauty. I can't wait to see her in a college sweater. BOY HOWDY!
