A Sarah Update

Yesterday I submitted my application for placement in the Upper Division Nursing Program at Montana State University. The University is based out of Bozeman, but they offer nursing courses at several other campuses throughout the state, including Great Falls, the town we'll be living in. When you apply, they consider you for all of these campuses, but I was able to fill out some "Special Needs" paperwork and send along a copy of Mike's orders, so hopefully I will only be considered for the Great Falls campus. The other campuses are over an hour away...so that would not really be doable! (Nor would I want to drive two-plus hours each day.) I will find out in July if I got into the program and in August if I got into the campus in Great Falls. Please keep me in your prayers!

I have kind of been down about this whole application process the past few days (who am I kidding...I've been stressing about this for months!) because before I start the Upper Division Program (assuming I get in, of course), there are five nursing courses and two science courses I need to take. There might even be three more science classes I may need, depending on if those credits transfer from good ol' Wallace Community College in Dothan, AL. So, worst case scenario, ten classes on top of the two years I just applied for. Because I would be taking the five prerequisite nursing classes in Great Falls out of convenience, I had apply to Upper Division for Spring 2012 (This is just their policy...believe me, I don't want to wait that long!).

So if I start Nursing in 2012...and have ten classes on top of that...I'm looking at starting school in Fall 2010 or Spring 2011. That's not so bad, but what does concern me is the fact that I will be finally graduating in 2014. Holy cow...that is in four years! I will be 29 in December 2014. Then, since I tend to over-analyze everything, I wonder if I really did the right thing by applying at all. I'm not ready to have babies right this second, but surely before I am 29 years old! (If only I had figured this out BEFORE I graduated the first time...and then did not have to move four times in two years! Oh well.)

My parents were at EVERYTHING when I was growing up. If I was an usher in the school play, my parents were there. In fact, out of all the softball games in my entire life (aside from college) I can think of one game out of literally hundreds that my Dad missed. That is so awesome to me! (Love you Mom & Dad!!!) I totally want to be able to do that for my kids so I wonder if now is the right time to be working on a career, especially since any children we do have could potentially be at the age when they're starting to do stuff that I won't want to miss when I DO graduate in 2014. (Am I making sense?) And then there's that little voice in the back of my head saying "You better hope you're still actually living in Montana at that point to complete your degree!" but that's more stress to think about than I need right now.

I felt all these apprehensions when I hit the "send" button and submitted my application yesterday. But I came to the conclusion that I am just going to go with it and see what happens. God already knows what He has in store for me, and I shouldn't let my fears/concerns/whatever get in the way of something I think I would enjoy and be good at. I shouldn't let my age in four years freak me out...29 is still young! And, I will always have that education to fall back on. I am trying really hard to just sit back and let God take the wheel, but still do have some apprehension about everything.

Please pray for me, that I can relax about this whole thing, that I get into the program in Great Falls, that there are no more "speedbumps" as far as school is concerned, that God's plan for me is somehow revealed. That last prayer might be asking a lot, but it would make things oh-so-much easier!