Preparing

Today I was standing in line at Starbucks and the white couple in front of me getting coffee had a 3-4 year old little girl with them that looked Chinese. It took every ounce of self-control in me not to tap the woman on the shoulder and say, "Did you adopt?" and then force her to the table with her coffee so that she could tell me everything. ha.

I know there are a number of adoption groups in my area - and even single-parent adoption groups. They encourage the "thinking and waiting" among us to join them - but I feel a bit silly going to those groups when I know I'm years from submitting paperwork. So - I'll just keep pestering the World Wide Web with my rambling posts.

I know I want to do this. It scares me. But I'm trying to make the best of my self-imposed time line and use it to learn and prepare and not to put it off under the guise of "ignorance is bliss."

One of the major things I need (want) to accomplish before I am a mother is to get my master's degree. I've been tossing about schools and majors in my head ever since I had my B.A. in my hand. I'm having trouble finding a school that offers the type of degree I want that is workable with my work schedule. I did meet someone at a class this summer who is pursuing the degree I'm interested in and she's doing it all online through VA Tech. So, I looked into that option - and I think I may go with that. The good thing about working and going to school is that I don't take too many credit hours per semester so the out-of-state tuition won't be astronomical all at once.

A master's degree is just something I'd like to have in general - but the pay increase with that degree will be of much help in supporting a family. And, I don't really want to be working on a master's once my child is here.

So, that's kind of my first step here in the process that I really need to start.

(Because someone will probably ask - - I am interested in pursuing a M.A. in Instructional Technology)