Life Happens

Wow. Melissa doesn't blog much these days, does she? Yeah, there's a lot of things that Melissa doesn't get to do much. (Sigh.) Besides all of the health stuff that I've told you about, I also have a house and a husband and two little kids to take care of, and I'm a full time student. So needless to say (and yet apparently I'm going to say it anyway) my life is a little bit hectic.

I saw an old friend a few months ago, and he was asking me how school was going. He said "you're finishing your Master's, right?" Ouch. I just kind of hung my head. "No. Bachelor's." Not that I could blame him. When somebody is my age and still in school, it's probably a fair assumption that it's grad school. But nope. Not for me. For a minute I started to feel kind of bad, like I should be farther along at this point in my life. But then I realized that it is what it is, and I don't have anything to feel bad about.

Do I sometimes wish that I could have finished college the first time I started? When I was single, and childless, and 14 years younger? You betcha! I think about how nice it might have been to be "one of the kids" instead of "that weird old lady that reminds me of my mom." Or how nice it would have been to be able to do homework without having to stop every couple of minutes because one of the kids needs something.

But it just didn't work out that way. No matter how much I had wanted to finish college when I was just out of high school, my health got in the way, and things had to be put on hold. Things happen. Life happens. But no matter how tempting it might be to play the "if only..." game, it doesn't do any good. And it's kind of silly, because it always leads me to the same conclusion.

If only I had finished college in my twenties, instead of in my thirties, life would be different. Maybe I could have had a Master's by now. Or even a PhD. Maybe I would have a career that I love, and be making lots of money. But maybe I wouldn't have married my husband. Or had these two beautiful children. Would things be different? Definitely. Would I change a thing? Absolutely not.

Of course, for anyone who still has the chance, I would definitely advise with all of my might that if you are able to finish school when you are young - DO IT! But if you're like me, and life just didn't work out that way when you were younger, don't ever feel like it's too late. Sometimes things get in the way for a while, and sometimes you have to take a detour or two, but eventually you can find your way back. I did.