I began my doctoral studies in Educational Leadership in Higher Education 2 months before ds#3 was born, so a little over 4 years ago.  I have not done a single thing for the program for almost 2 years--the amount of time ds#1 has been "officially" homeschooling, which of course is not a coincidence.

I received a letter 2 weeks ago telling me to call or be dropped.  Shortly after a good friend sent me a link to this beautiful UTUBE video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS_F2_ucYKw

After a good cry, I felt as if I should give up graduate school.  I am not going to go out and work in the field when I graduate.  Our family needs to spend a lot of money for me to continue.  My children come first.  Besides, my proposed dissertation went down the tubes when NREMT didn't send me my last round of study data, and I spent more time chasing people than doing research.

I did, at the 11th hour, call my advisor.  She was glad to hear from me and encouraged me to stay in because of the good work I've done, and suggested some other dissertation topics.  All I have to do is write 2 papers and take my qualifying exam and then I am done with my course work.  It seems like waste to end it now.

So I am still official a distance education doctoral student at the University of Nebraska in Educational Leadership and Higher Education.  I dread the strain it will put on our family again.  I doubt I will be able to teach co-op classes this fall.  And the money, lots of it...

The great news is that I have a lot of support from my husband and, where I teach, from the dean and my program director (a well-seasoned homeschooler!)  We'll see what the posts look like a month from now when I'm really stressed.