gratitude: day 24

today i'm grateful for my education.

i love to learn. i actually liked school. and not just the social part of it. in fact, i was a bit of a nerd {gasp!}. a bookworm. i was the student who marked up her textbooks so much that there was more information highlighted than not...you know, the ones you absolutely wouldn't buy in the used section at the bookstore. you're welcome. i worked hard, but learning came easy to me. it was enjoyable.

i remember loving preschool. and kindergarten. and elementary school. i even loved junior high; it wasn't all that brutal to me. i really loved high school. i wouldn't go back, but i loved it when i was there. i loved college. i worked really hard in college, but i loved it. i graduated cum laude with a 3.9 gpa. AFTER i graduated, when ryan was still in school, he said, "let's have a contest to see who can get the highest gpa." yah, like that's fair...after i'm finished and my gpa is set in stone. but, i was on high ground, so i agreed. i won. barely, yes. but i won.

{college graduation day, april 2004}

i decided on public relations as my major in college. i'm really not sure why. i look at all the other personalities in that major and they were all much more outgoing than me. they were go-getters. many were smooth talkers. they weren't afraid of people. i was. i was a wall flower. a blessing i received a few years before i graduated mentioned that my education would be very useful in my life and that i would love what i studied.

i did love it - mostly the writing aspect. i wanted to be a journalist, but that didn't really coincide with family life too well, so i opted for pr. and i still got to write.

however, i'm still waiting for the part about it being very useful. right now, i feel like i should have learned a lot more about child development or nursing or something. i have a hard time relating to my two-and-a-half-year-old public some days.

but i'm grateful i graduated. with my situation as a young girl, i knew i wanted that piece of paper. i just needed a diploma to ensure that if something happened, i would be able to work...and that diploma was so important to me.

i'm also grateful for ryan's education. he worked so hard in school {even though he didn't beat my gpa} so he could get a good job to support our family. he continues to work hard and learn new things at work so he can excel there.

i'm grateful for leah's education. her teachers are amazing. some days i have a hard time thinking she won't go to kindergarten...or elementary school...or junior high, high school or college. but she will be educated. her teacher is the one who suggested we get her tested for rett syndrome. she figured out today that leah has been having small seizures {i'm such a bad mom...i had no idea that's what was happening!}, but she knows how to help. she has new ideas to help her every time we go to class. and they love her. that's the best part.

i'm grateful for my mom's education. because she was formally educated, she was able to go back to work and get a job to help support our little family when things didn't go as planned. and she was also able to make us some sweet, sweet clothes with her mad sewing skills.

i'm grateful that even though i'm not in school, i can still learn new ideas and skills every single day.

i'm grateful for education.