To have a degree or not to have a degree.....

I feel like sometimes there too many expectations for everyone to go to college for 4 years and get a degree so that they can get have a good career.  During the last two years of highschool, I just never had the desire to "further my education" and go to a 4 year school.  I was never pressured by my parents or family to go to college, but when I graduated I just felt like there were certain expectations from society that I needed to go to college.  So I decided to start out slow and attend a community college that way I could still stay at home for the first year or so and then maybe transfer. Well.....I didn't even make it to mid-terms before I dropped out.  I absolutely hated it! And after praying for several weeks I just knew that college wasn't for me, so I quit. 

I have always believed that somewhere deep inside me, God placed this innate desire to be the best wife and mommy someday! And after those few weeks of praying for guidance I decided that I didn't need a 4 year degree to be a good wife and stay-at-home mom.  I had 12 years of teaching and training on the wife/mom subject from my own, wonderful mother!! No college professor could give me that kind of training! 

I had started working in the office of Aaron Academy in September 2007 while also taking a couple classes at Vol State....by mid-October I was only working at the school!  (Told you I didn't last very long! 6 weeks tops!)  I decided to just continue working and save as much money as I could until God brought someone along!  I worked at the school for a little over a year until December 2008.  Then in January of 2009 I had the wonderful opportunity and pleasure of becoming a nanny for the Tabor family! They have two girls who were 18 mos and 3 mos at the time. Now they are 3 1/2 and 2!! I worked for them until March of 2010 because I had gotten engaged in September of '09 and was planning on getting married in August of 2010.   As much as I was excited to be getting married to the love of my life, my happiness and joy was mixed with the emotion of sadness because I would be leaving two precious little girls I had been with everyday for over a year! I love those girls so much, and still go to see them any chance I get!! I was so thankful to become part of their family! 

Right before I left the Tabors, my dad hooked me up with a connection of his: a sweet lady who runs a nanny agency. He contacted her and she said to have me call her.  I did, and we set up an interview for the 1st week of April.  She was wonderful and set me up with a few, one-time babysitting jobs to get me through the summer and then found a wonderful family in Clarksville for me to work for!  After Josh and I got married in August, we moved on campus at Austin Peay State University, in Clarksville,TN, to finish out his senior year of college.  And I started working for the Cox family the week after we got back from our honeymoon. Their dad/husband is a Major in the Army and is currently deployed to Afghanistan and will return sometime in April! It has been such a blessing to work with their family and especially get to know Alison to be able to talk about the military life whenever I have questions.  I also started babysitting several days a week for a friend of hers in the same neighborhood and have thoroughly enjoyed keeping their kids!  Between the two families, the kids range from a year and a half - 10 years old.  Good thing I have plenty of experience with all ages! (Being the oldest of 7, with the youngest being 5 years old has it's perks!) 

I enjoy being able to work and do what I love and still have time to come home do "wifely duties," like cleaning, cooking and doing laundry.  I know it's probably crazy but I actually enjoy doing laundry and going grocery shopping! I love being at home with Josh and having my own home to take care of, no matter how small it is right now! It's perfect for the two of us! 

I'm glad that I had the peace and discernment to realize that college is not meant for everyone. I'm so thankful to my mom for being such a wonderful, Godly example of what a wife and mom should be!  She was and is such a great teacher and I'm grateful for all of the training I got while I lived at home! She is one of my best friends and I love her so much!!  Thank you mom!