Moms And College.

I am addicted to learning. No, really. I find it hard to believe that there will ever come a time in my life where I will not be taking some sort of class or teaching myself something from a book.

Right now I am studying to become a Childbirth Educator. And for the first time since becoming a mom, my mom duties and studying have come to an impasse.

I am so close to finishing. But, having two kids and a house and all my other activities keep getting in the way, more than ever before. I need to start scheduling some time in, time where I will leave the house and go somewhere quiet and do nothing but study.

I know that I can do this, I have in the past. When I got pregnant with the Mermaid, I was a junior in college. It was hard. Puking in between classes, fighting for seats near the door so I wouldn't be as disruptive when I left to pee every two minutes during class, trying to sit in those hard chairs while literally feeling my legs and hands swell up.

Not to mention that I was the new poster child on campus for safe sex. The bigger my belly got, the bigger the eyes of the girls who would stare at me as I waddled down the hall. The freshmen girls were the worst, they would actually whisper behind their hands to each other as I walked by. I was a freak on campus.

And this was in college. COLLEGE!! All you ladies who had to do this in high school, where the maturity level I'm sure barely existed, I feel for you.

Junior year ended (finally) and I waddled my way through the rest of summer, giving birth to the Mermaid a week before the fall semester started. I took a semester off so I could stay home with her for a little bit before jumping back into studying.

When I went back to finish my senior year, the Mermaid was six months old. I was lucky, I had very supportive family who not only encouraged (and threatened) me to finish college, but were more than willing to watch the Mermaid as I made the 1.5 hour drive each way to campus and back. That's 3 hours of driving a day. But I did it.

I did it despite the fact that I was still a bit of a freak, because OMG she has a baby? (Again, this really bothered me because I was in COLLEGE. I was 21. I wasn't 15, I was 21! Get over it, people!). I did it even thought it meant long drives and long nights, with the Mermaid nursing in one arm and an open textbook in my other arm. I did it, even though it meant lots of pumping, pumping that I had to do IN THE BATHROOM, while being STARED AT by girls who still believed that the purpose of breasts were to win wet T-shirt contests and flash crowds on Mardi Gras!

I'm not trying to whine about what I had to go through, because I know that lots of other girls did it too. I remember one time walking into the bathroom carrying my pump, turning the corner, and bumping into another girl walking out who was carrying the same pump. We locked eyes, and without a single word, gave each other a hug. It is do-able, and I was lucky I had the support and resources I needed to go back and finish school.

I'm just trying to re-iterate how I did it through even more trying circumstances than I am facing now, and yet I am having more trouble now than I did back then. And I can't figure out why.

So, to all moms who are juggling school work with being a mom to young children: I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear your advice and tips. But more importantly, remembering back to my college days and how tough some days were, I'd like to hear: How are you? How was your day? Because sometimes, it just takes a small conversation (or even a moment of locking eyes) with someone who totally gets it to keep you going.

Moms And College.