College Education Is Not For Everyone?

I just read this article about whether or not college is for everyone:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-03-16-1Acollegeforall16_CV_N.htm

Personally, I grew knowing (I was quite sure) that college was the only way to succeed in life. I spent a large chuck on my life getting an education, and I knew that I was doing the absolute right thing.

During my college years, I fell in love my husband. He had no desire to go to college-he told me that he knew it would be a waste of time and money for him. He told me that he knew kids that probably weren't cut out for college and spent large amounts of money for a degree that they never achieved. Now we own a successful plumbing business and he has a masters license and has achieved his dream.

Then there's me. I remember taking an IQ test and being told that I had the same IQ as Oprah. So, where's my talk show and my billion dollars? Actually, I really don't care about the money. The truth is, I have been bothered by my lack of accomplishment ever since I was watching Oprah the other day. She had a show about amazing people and she said, "I always felt that I would do something great." I always believe that I would, too. We have the same IQ and grew up with the same feeling about ourselves-we're also both African-American women. What happened to me? Lately, I've felt like the most successful thing I accomplish during the week is finishing the laundry.

The other day my sister brought me some stuff from my childhood. Occasionally, when my dad is cleaning out the crawl space, he randomly dumps old stuff of mine at my house that I don't want. (He's probably laughing as he reads that.) This time my sister brought a story that I wrote in 1991. I ignored it for a while, but the other day I picked it up during some down time. As I read it, I realized that I was actually a better writer at the age of 13 than I am now. My ideas for the story were definitely immature, but they were written really well. It got me thinking that maybe there is something that I can do and take care of kids at the same time. Maybe writing can help me to feel a sense of purpose and accomplishment outside of my children.

So, I'm trying to be optimistic again. I'm starting up another blog. This blog is for cathartic purposes and the other blog is more for future job purposes. I'll reveal that one as it gets closer to being finished. Best wishes as you discover what you were meant to do!

A quote I just read on USA Today:

"We must learn to honor excellence in every socially accepted human activity, however humble the activity, and to scorn shoddiness, however exalted the activity. An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."
--John Gardner, "Excellence"

Who Am I?

Today is not so much focused on my kids as it is focused on the mother of my kids. ( I don't even refer to myself by name anymore.) You see, I seem to have lost some of my own identity on the motherhood journey.

Today Mark and I took the older 3 kids bowling. (When you can take your older 3 kids somewhere, that means you have a LOT of kids.) I digress.... We took the kids bowling and I was having fun and dancing to the music at the bowling alley--normal bowling alley stuff. Elena was giggling and she said, "Wow, you're in a good mood!" I got thinking about that comment. My first thought was I'm always in a good mood. Then I thought Apparently, I'm not always in a good mood if she made a comment. Then I remembered back to before having kids I USED to always be in a good mood. I guess I'm all about business a lot of the time. It's hard watching 4 kids and doing a mountain of business paperwork and taking care of the house. Maybe I don't have TIME to be in a good mood anymore. Then I remembered what one mom in MOPS said on Wednesday. I'm the box that the baby came in.

Allow me to explain: On Wednesday Lisa, one of my mom friends from MOPS said that we as moms sometimes treat ourselves as "the box that the baby came in." When I go out I always make sure that my kids look good and presentable. They have their hair brushed (I swear Christina's hair doesn't like that in the morning), nice clothes, and are taken care of. Me? Not so much. I go to the grocery store and the bank all of the time in my half pajamas--hoping the whole time that I don't run into my mother. (She would probably pinch me....) As my friend Lisa said, I treat myself as the box the baby came in. Like I am just a glorified caretaker. Just a chauffeur for those adorable children.

I guess that's why I'm blogging. This is an attempt to remember what I once was--and what I used to love to do. I remember when I wanted to be a writer. Then I also wanted to work on the Spanish language. I just love languages. Somewhere along the way I became an unpaid daycare worker and bookkeeper. Neither job is really too glorious. They are, however, necessary. I want to remember the day when my life was so full of promise. I just have to figure out how that fits in with my family. That could take a lot of time to ponder.

I feel much better now. My rant is done and now I have to finish filing all of my year end reports. Adios.