BS- Bachelor of Science!

So I am officially done done done done done.....with my bachelor's degree. I am waiting patiently for my diploma to come in the mail. I completed 18 weeks of student teaching- 10 in second grade and 8 in Special Ed. I was able to finish 2 weeks early because I was offered a ten week position at the school. I'm not sure exactly what my title is, but basically I teach a small group or take over the class while the teacher works with her bubble kids. Bubble kids are the ones who are just slightly below grade level who, with a little more direct instruction, have a chance to pass the CRT's (state tests). Passing CRT's is crucial at our school right now because we have to meet certain scores set by NO Child Left Behind or we will all be moved around to different schools.

Anyway, I love what I do and I am SO glad that I dedicated 5 years of my life to this. It truly is what I love doing and holds a very special place in my heart. I enjoy teaching and I love my kids. I am thankful to have chosen a career path that I honestly love and feel so fulfilled at the end of the day. Now any Prayers for me to get a full time job would be greatly appreciated!

THE QUESTION

So, after three (yes it has been three) years of marriage, I get asked THE Question quite often "When are you going to have kids?" Despite my urge to shout out "None of your Business" I guess I will attempt to answer seeing as my standard peer group generally has around 2 kids by now. There are several reasons why I have consciously put off having children.

1. I know many people that get pregnant their first year of marriage. While that might work for some, I wanted to work on my relationship with my husband before bringing a third party into the mix. Marriage is hard enough as it is, I wanted to get used to being a wife before being a mother.

2. School. I have wanted to be a teacher for 18+ years now. People who have known me that long can attest to this. I wanted to get through school first. I got married after starting college and I was not willing to let go of two years of hard work and money because I had a child to raise. It was my goal to get through college and I am proud to say that I have.

3. Money. I know I know. "If you wait until you have money, you will never have kids." Boy if I had a nickel for every time I have had that said to me, maybe i'd actually have enough money to have a child. The truth is, we genuinely cannot afford it. We had a rough couple of years and we could barely pay our bills, let alone the bills of another. I do believe that the lord will provide (something I could also collect nickels on for hearing), but I am also a firm believer that one should live within their means. At this moment in time, bringing a child into the world would not only be living beyond our means, but it would also be utterly irresponsible.

Believe me, this is something that I have had to choose for myself and come to terms with. I am always concerned with long term, and for the past three years, bringing a child into the world was not what we were supposed to do. That's not to say that we will never have children; quite the opposite actually. While I like to throw around the idea of working for the rest of my life and leaving the child bearing to the other thousands of capable mothers, I know that kids are in my future. I believe that it is an individual choice and the time differs from person to person based on their circumstances. Unfortunately the peer pressure is high, but I made it three years and a few more (if that's what is supposed to happen) won't kill me.