September normally conjures up the thoughts of going back to school, but have you ever thought of what it would be like if the whole family was going back? All at the same time?!
In May of 2009 (after being laid off) my husband decided he wanted a career change; not a career shift, a whole change. This meant he had to go back to school. He investigated some government funding programs and then after hoop jumping, enrolled in college for a two year program to start in September.
The first day of school arrived for three out of the four of us; coincidentally, it was our son’s very first day of Junior Kindergarten. It was odd to see my 34 year old Hubby with his backpack, packed lunch, binders and textbooks sitting next to our children all decked out in new clothes and pretty much the same school gear as their father.
The proceeding few months took their toll on us; Hubby all but disappeared as his head was buried deep in text-books, essays, assignments and exams. We had a small reprieve around Christmas break, but overall the period from September to March was nerve-wracking and stressful with plenty of ups and downs. We decided at that point that he would take the summer off and help out around the house, hang out with the kids and generally chill-out.
March 2009 - Riinngg goes the phone... I have been accepted into a 6 month intensive web development program at the same college he goes to and it starts TWO days after I get the phone call. (Side note: I had applied to the program months before he got laid off and had waited over a year to be notified of my acceptance.)
For the entire month of March, Hubs and I drop the kids off at daycare, carpool an hour and a half to the college and then go our respective ways until 3:00 when we turn around and drive an hour and a half back home, do some home work and then pick up the kids from daycare. The evening consists of shift work basically; Hubs doing some studying (in the midst of finals) while I cook dinner, then me studying while he gives the kids a bath. Once the kids are in bed, we both bury our heads in a textbook yet again.
This routine continued until the end of his year in April, at which point I started to head to school by myself while he shifted into the “Home Maker” role. Dinner was made by the time I got home, the kids were bathed before bed, the house was clean, the laundry folded etc. We’ve encountered a lot questions such as: “How do you do it?” and comments such as “Whoa, that’s crazy!” but I always reply to them the same way; it’s only for a short amount of time and we’re not really sure how we’re doing it; we just are.
Thankfully, my program ends the last week of August – just in time for the three of them to head back to class. I’ve given thought to the timing of all of this and wonder if it would be any easier had we staggered the learning process, but I conclude that regardless of the process; it doesn’t matter how we do it. We’re following our passions, teaching the kids how important education is and working together to create a brighter future; that is totally worth the short term stress!
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