Life With A Bachelor of Arts

I have worked for this degree for over two years. My loving and oh, so patient wife has inspired, cheered, and helped me every step of the way. My children gave up daddy time to allow me to write, read, and study. Our financial situation during this period of education has deteriorated to dismal, because during this process we supported my D2, her boyfriend and their daughter, my precious and beautiful granddaughter. In addition, S3 decided to move in with us because of his trouble with his mom and step dad, and we could not say no. So Pam worked and worked, I worked part-time, and was a student full time. Nine total mouths and bodies, with needs and wants and only two contributing to the financial well being of the whole.

Don't get me wrong, D2 worked her butt off to support herself and her daughter, and she went to school full time on top of her full time job. She had money for her new car, including gas and insurance, her partying lifestyle, and childcare for daughter, and she paid us a stipend just for a help with food and some bills, but it never was enough to cover their expenses. We spent our savings fixing up our house for them to have a private apartment - type place, and then our monthly bills got bigger and bigger for three years.

A high school student, S3, has many needs. He needs to be inspired to finish school, do his best in order to learn the most, and absorb as much attention and energy from a family as physically possible. Much of this energy is taken in chauffeuring from place to place, the funding for everything he needs and most of his wants. Very hard in the long run to make a child of divorce (we had a total of four) buy in to a "family" plan and help work WITH a family instead of "All for One" and screw the All plan.

This has been about our deep and dismal financial picture. I received my B.A. degree to recreate a better picture. I can not get employed! So, my life with a Bachelor of Arts degree is just that, the same life with a pretty piece of paper, a tassel, and a funky black dress thing.