Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I'll have a full life with a side order of guilt please

Recent posts by Rantings of a Mature-Aged College Student and Student Mum regarding (consecutively) guilt and the perils of full-time v part-time study remind me of the fact that my leisurely holiday of the past two plus months will soon be at a close. 

This week I've been gearing my children up for the fact that one or two days a week they will have to walk to and from school as two of my lectures start early and one of them finishes late.  This comes under the heading of 'Guilt' because since I finished last Semester, I've been here, there and everywhere for them.

I've been gearing my husband up for the fact that I will have to be out of the house at 7am for my 9am lecture and he'll be facing the morning chaos on his own.  This also comes under the heading of 'Guilt' for the same reason - we've been facing the morning chaos together for months.

As well as lecture and tutorial times, my student diary is also filled with times for my pilates, running, dog walking and social egagements I don't want to miss, in an effort to keep some semblance of my non-student life.  This I may have a hard time with seeing as I'm doing a little more than the part-time study load in an effort to have my degree finished in 3 1/2 years instead of 6.  This comes under the heading of  'You just can't fit it all in' because realistically, how will I? 

Like Student Mum, I'll just have to come to the realisation that I may not be able to be everywhere and something may have to give.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Everything's write with my world

The course outlines have finally been made available - Plato, Voltaire, Machiavelli, Shakespeare and Chaucer are the readings I have to look forward to (I get heart palpatations just thinking about it!); I've bought some funky new folders, my pencils are sharpened and I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting, waiting, waiting...

My conscious decision not to keep worrying about what I will do with my degree when I finish seems to be working already.  I've been asked by a friend from Uni to help edit a novel she's writing.  I've heard these sorts of things can happen when you're in the right environment, you never know where it's going to lead.

In the meantime, my 'Perfect Sunset' has been submitted.  I doubt I'll win any awards but it was a great writing exercise, nonetheless.  As someone once said, 'The impossible is often the untried'.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Mission not so impossible

The mission I have chosen to accept - to describe my favourite sunset in 150 words or less.

The prize -  an all expenses paid trip to North Queensland, $1,000 spending money and the story of my experience to be published.

No, it's not so impossible - then why can't I think???  This blog will self-destruct in 5, 4, 3, 2...

Sunday, February 7, 2010

A room of one's own

I have finally turned my little nook into a writing space!  I have a door that locks; airconditioning for those sweltering summers; a verandah on which to escape when I'm plagued with writer's/student's block; a phone on which I can call for help; a roomy desk for me to spread out all my 'stuff' and a comfy chair I can lean back in for those silent moments.  Although I don't have the view of a flower bed I wanted, I do have a beautiful floral painting to gaze upon in quiet contemplation.  I finally have my own place in which my creative juices can marinate!  All I need now is for uni to start and it couldn't happen soon enough.

On Monday, SH No. 1 returned to work after our lengthy holiday and I arrived home after dropping the children off at school to an empty, silent house.  I have since spent the rest of the week offering my services to anyone that wants them in an attempt not to be alone.  What's even more frustrating is that only one of my course outlines is available and with three weeks to go until Semester 1 starts,  I'm itching to get my reading materials organised.

As SH No. 1 keeps reminding me, once the semester starts, I will have plenty to do.  In the mean time, I'm giving my writing space a workout...blogging and the occasional writing competition.  Shh...don't tell the children, they think I'm actually working in here!!!

Monday, February 1, 2010

You've gotta be cruel to be kind

Anyone with teenagers will agree - it's like living with tennants who never pay and you only know they're around by the mess they leave behind in the kitchen and bathroom.  It's our own fault.  Our house is quite large, not by necessity but because of our desperation to be closer to the schools.  We've esentially got two houses, one on top of the other and thought it would be good for the TD's to have their own space downstairs.  So why would we see them when they've got their own cable T.V, WII, X-Box, bathroom and bedroooms downstairs, away from the 'rents' as we're affectionately known.  The only thing they don't have is their own kitchen but they soon come traipsing upstairs when the waft of dinner approaches their nostrils.

With TD No 1 recently turning 16, I have decided she needs to start being more responsible for herself and so have stopped pocket money in the hope she'll be more serious about finding a part-time job.  This doesn't mean, however, that she doesn't have to do anything around the house.  Since she was 15, she's been responsbile for doing her washing twice a week (which, by the way, only got done by my constant prodding and reminding).  Now, I've decided she's old enough to realise that laundry is a part of every day life and it just has to be done.  So, this weekend, I reminded her once to which she responded by saying, "Oh yeah" and shrugged her shoulders.  This morning being Monday, she realised she didn't have a uniform to wear - what did she do?  What could she do?  She pulled one out of the laundry basket (without ironing it) and then wondered around the house looking for socks!!!

Now, I'm not saying that as a teenager I was perfect.  My mother will be the first one to stand up and attest to the fact that I wasn't.  My dressing table constantly had dust on it about 2 inches thick and I moaned and groaned when I had to hang washing out.  However, at 15 I had a full-time job with a government department and was responsible for getting myself dressed and ready for life in the real world.  This entailed doing my own laundry and ironing, applying my make-up and ensuring I got to work on time (via public transport).  At 18 I moved out of home and was then actually living in the real world.

Yes, my daughter is a senior - an achievement I never had the luxury to achieve at her age but what are we setting our children up for if we don't teach them how to be responsible for themselves?  I'm happy for my children to stay at home for as long as it takes for them to go to uni or establish a career (well, at least until they're 23!!!) but what I don't want are three non-paying tennants who treat the house like a hotel.  So, I've done a purge.  No more cable T.V. downstairs - hopefully they'll be that bored they'll actually come upstairs and ask if I need help with dinner, clean their bathroom without being asked or do their laundry.

Of course, what may happen is that they'll get so sick of living under a Nazi regime, they'll actually move out at 18!  Hopefully, they'll at least know how and when to do a load of laundry!!!

I've done it!!!

Well, I've finally done it!! Got accepted into Uni AND created a blog!!! After searching for insightful websites to help me tackle my journey into academia at my ripe old age and coming up with nil, I decided to start one of my own. I hope this blog will encourage anyone who has ever doubted their own abilities, to put one foot in front of the other and achieve their ambitions, desires, dreams...no matter what they are. If anyone has any inspiring stories to share, I would love to hear them. I love an inspiring story!!!