After struggling through a difficult divorce, going back to school is probably the furthest thing from your mind. The thought of supporting your children on your own while going to school is almost unbearable. It is incredibly time consuming and expensive, and for a single mom those things just don’t mix.
At the time my ex-husband and I split, I wasn’t working and had taken a year off of school to be with my son. I was faced with a difficult decision. Without a college degree I knew that nearly my entire paycheck would go toward daycare for Logan. If I went back to school I would be forced to move back in with my parents. For some this may not seem like a big deal, but for someone who valued independence as fiercely as I did it was like getting the pink slip of life. I knew what I had to do, but it wasn’t easy. I enrolled at a new university and started plugging away on what was left of my degree.
At first the transition was grueling. My son had never been in daycare before and neither one of us was used to being away from the other. He struggled learning how to interact with all these new people in his life and every second I was in class I was aching to be with my son. I would have given anything to go back to the days of being a full time stay-at-home-mom, but unfortunately, as a single mother that wasn’t an option for me.
After that first semester we both began gaining confidence. I was pursuing my dreams and back on my way to independence. Logan was making friends and learning so much in the process. It was the best thing I could have done for both of us. It wasn’t easy. I hated being away from him more than anything, but in the end it was comforting to know that this little sacrifice would give us a better life. It gave us the opportunity to get back on our feet at a time when that seemed impossible; and that alone made every minute worthwhile.