Parking Pass Red

There are several blogs that I read. And one that I write. Anyway, some of my newer blogs have been of the ‘mommy blog’ variety, and those usually have been of the bereaved mommy blog variety, because, well, I’m a member of that club. Well, some of these women have come together and made the site (in)courage, which is to nourish the hearts and souls of women. They are more in touch with their faith than I am, so that is what I hope to get out of it. Anyway, head on over to (in)courage now and fill your internal cup until it runneth over.

Meanwhile, they are looking for examples of courage made manifest in the lives of the online women blogging community. I admit that I’m taking the format directly from the blog as far as my courage goes. Please note that this is the last week of summer vacation and classes for me begin Monday the 17th.

I’m nearly thirty-nine and courage is parking pass red. I go to the Office of Parking and Transportation and buy my $77 parking pass for the College of Business. I’m the oldest woman in nearly every class, and the only mom. But I have a goal, which is just a dream with a deadline, of getting my MBA by the time I’m 40. And so I park my minivan in the lot, grab my pink backpack and head into class.

I have a lot of people ask me why I have returned to school. They are expecting the answer of job promotion, greater marketability and the like. My answer is always “for me.” Only one person has ever understood that answer; their response was that it was the best reason of all to go. We are a house of learning. My husband has 2 master’s degrees and I am working on this one, right along with doing Brownies and Market Day, being a wife and a mother to a third grader. Somehow, as a family, we make it happen, around crock pots and drive-thru’s, parent-teacher conferences and business trips.

I do not have any illusions of grandeur about this degree. This is solely for me. What I wanted to do and because I could do it. To learn different things. To enjoy learning at my own pace, and with the benefit of workplace experience. To keep my mind active. (Quilting can do a lot, but not everything.) To show my daughter that learning is life-long.