Back to School?

So we've had an interesting week around the Holmes house this week. Our three oldest started back to school (the littlest starts in a couple days), and we (the grown-up people) have been having some stimulating conversation.

I'm pretty sure the topic of college, particularly "going back to" college, came up at least 5 times with various people last week, one of them being the Terminix guy who I've only ever said "thank you for keeping our house a bug-free zone" to. Now I'm not saying Oh it's a sign! or anything creepy like that... but I have noticed that sometimes God can be persistent and loud about things when it comes to dealing with hard-headed people.... I dunno, just an observation.

So I brought the idea up somewhat cautiously, not expecting a super favorable response, but figured it was worth tossing around a bit. Well, Allen and I ended up doing some brainstorming and came up with a very workable, if not a bit unconventional, 5 year plan... in which the two of us will finish our bachelors degrees and be able to have decently paying jobs and pursue some things that we love.

I was 11 courses shy of my bachelor's in English when I got preggos with Cass and had such horrendous morning sickness that even the thought of my 8 o' clock class made me nauseous and had to drop out. I toyed with going back over the years, but alas, every time I would get serious about it another "special delivery" would come along and plans would be postponed.

So we've done some researching and found I could go to USC this next fall (2010-2011) and finish my bachelor's in secondary education English, in a little more than a year! Then, while I work full-time, Allen can stay part-time at Fed-Ex for the excellent benefits and go back to finish his degree... the details of which are not set in stone, but maybe Spanish teaching? or Engineering? It would take him 2-3 years, depending on what he decides to do.

It's kind of exhilarating to think that our lives could be so different within the next few years. And the benefits to the children, our family, would be so great. I would love to go on to teach writing or lit in a university at some point... and the deeply discounted/free education for the children that could go along with that could come in handy too! : )

I've never really been very sold on higher education as a rule... I am a huge fan of trades, especially when passed down within a family... and I think that people have a lot more to offer than the book knowledge acquired in college. I couldn't be prouder than if my children grew up to be revolutionaries, reformers, artists or poets... But see, there goes that insane side of me again... We have to be part of the culture we're in. And even revolutionaries have degrees nowadays...

Interesting stuff folks... I guess I don't see any reason why we couldn't do it, make it work... A bit of determination, some time and a relatively small investment overall... could totally change the course of our lives and our children's lives.