Another degree down

Yesterday marked the final day in my final quarter needed to complete my bachelors degree online at Savannah College of Art & Design. Yes, I’m DONE. Finally.

Yesterday the kids and I sat down with the heaping pile of the curriculum I completed these last two years to take our 365 photo for the day. These same papers I was buried under at some point or another as these two amazing kids anxiously awaited my attention during every break I took.

I spent a lot of time this week reflecting on how much has happened in the last two years since I started this journey, and really found myself not only appreciative that I’ve finished but for all the support I’ve had from my family, friends, colleagues, classmates, and yes, even my own students.

So what was the most challenging part of your degree?
I’d definitely say that juggling work, school, and the kids posed the biggest challenge these last two years. When I started my bachelors degree in September of 2007 it was just one month before I had Jaylen. I had never taken an online course before, but I just assumed when I signed up that it’d be something I could handle around everything else I had planned, even the challenges of having a newborn baby in the house. I have to admit that there were many days and nights during my very first quarter after having Jaylen where I wasn’t so sure how I’d juggle it all. But I’ve learned that determination will get you through anything, and it has. Thankfully I have two amazing kids and an awesome husband who have come to accept how busy my educational goals have kept me. So I guess for me the challenge really hasn’t been in getting the degree “done” but instead in making time for those who I care for most while finishing my degree.

So how in the world did you juggle the kids, work and school?
Sometimes you don’t ask “how” and you just do it. I have to admit that without Jason I don’t know how I’d have finished this degree. He took a fair amount of time off after Jaylen was born to help me get through one of the most challenging quarters. Virtually every weekend he came to accept, as frustrating as it may have been, that the weekends were almost always devoted to me finishing most of my big projects, research papers, presentations, and more. So as he played Mr. Mom I was often locked in my room free of distractions, granted the kids did manage to sneak in from time to time. And well, there were just many moments where he was at work and I had deadlines mid week where I was up all hours of the day and night completing homework. Hope has been an amazing big sister helping with Jaylen. At times I admit that resorting to Blue’s clues meant I was able to get one more thing accomplished to achieve my goals. At times I have been so focused and thankful how much Jaylen enjoyed Blue’s clues that I’d look over and he’d be sound asleep.

Geez, how many degrees do you have now? How many more are you going to get?
I guess this now will make four degrees. I have a general Associates degree and two A.S. degrees (graphics and interactive) from Valencia. And now I have a bachelors degree – so I suppose that makes me “legit”. 🙂 I’m just about finished with my masters application at SCAD. If everything goes as planned I will begin my masters degree this fall. As for what follows that, who knows. We’re entertaining the thoughts of a PhD but one thing at at time people. 🙂

Now that you’ve successfully finished interviewing yourself AGAIN, do you have any final words?
Besides thank you to everyone who has offered me encouragement or support. 🙂 I suppose I should remind everyone out there not to think of things as “impossible”. I have had many who have jokingly said that some of my goals are impossible or crazy. I guess I should remind you all that “success is journey not a destination.”

Remembering his curls

I knew it was only a matter of time before we’d finally break down and get my baby’s hair cut and today was that day. I admit I’ve found myself admiring his curls more and more as his hair grew over the last 19+ months. Like most mothers, I found it difficult to really let go of his curls to finally get his hair cut, so I find myself today remembering his curls and thankful that I took many pictures of them…

Born with a head full of hair
I imagine part of what has been so challenging for me to finally commit to getting Jaylen’s hair cut is because not only do I not want to let go of just one more baby phase that I’ve adored seeing, but his hair is the one thing I remember most since the day he was born. My son was born with a head full of hair and it’s the one thing that many, including myself identified with from the moment I first saw him. Yes, I know, my baby’s hair will grow back – but I have to admit it’s one more connection that made the decision for me a much more reluctant one.

It’s really not his first…
For those that have been following us closely, you may remember, that this really isn’t Jaylen’s first haircut. As much as I came to admire Jaylen’s longer hair as an infant it was frustrating for me to see how his hair grew those first few months. Like most babies he lost some hair and some continued to grow. When he was about five months old we trimmed his “comb over” hair so he didn’t look like a silly old man and really in hopes that it’d grow back evenly.

It was time…
Though this is really his second haircut, the decision was actually more challenging than the first. Over the last year I’ve grown connected to seeing my baby boy and his curls as he grew, and grew, and grew. So to me, this seems like his first haircut because the first one really only trimmed away a couple hairs to even his hair out. But yes, I finally agreed to this decision, despite how challenging it was to commit to. In fact, I bet if Jason hadn’t said he was going to take him today on his own I would have likely continued to prolong the idea of getting his haircut. Jason and I do both generally prefer shorter hair and with the summer rolling around his hair would have only become more of a challenge. The front of his hair has gotten so long over the last few months that getting his hair cut was really inevitable given his age. Now that he’s also in safe start lessons we also found that his hair began getting in his eyes and hindering him during lessons. So combined this has all allowed me to accept getting his hair cut. I imagine you all are more interested in seeing the photos…

Hope was very persistent in the idea of getting her brother’s hair cut. She was excited to finally take him today.

Jaylen sat on Jason’s lap for his entire hair cut. He looked like such a big boy.

Of course I did like always and hid behind my camera and photographed the moment.

When Jaylen’s hair cut was done he got down and looked super happy to greet his daddy who had a huge smile on his face too. I admit that when I saw these two together that Jaylen looks so much like Jason now, especially like the pictures I remember seeing of Jason as a little boy.

Here he is before and after the haircut:

So yes, the curls are gone but he’s still cute as ever. He certainly looks like such a big boy now. I guess there’s no way of ignoring the fact that my baby is growing up.