My how times have a-changed!

I am a mother to two small children, and today, crazy person that I am (all evidence points to this as the obvious conclusion); I began my PhD – full-time!  I have returned to my alma mada, where I studied my Bachelor degree oh so many years ago. I never thought I’d be back there. I went into campus to enrol today, and well, it was a slightly different experience to the one I had so long ago when I rocked up on the bus and spent the day doing orientation activities.

This morning, I fed the kids breakfast – do your children have to eat the very moment their eyes pop open in the morning, otherwise screaming ensues? Walked the dog (am trying to get fit, but only seem to be able to spend 20 minutes walking the dog each morning in the form of exercise). Then quickly showered while the baby took a short nap, woke him up (oh despair!), and raced over to my friend, P’s, house to drop off the kids for a couple of hours so I could go through orientation at the university. The drive to P’s house took 15 minutes, and then it was another 35 minutes back to uni, so by that time I was 20 minutes late for my appointment and needless to say my heart was racing, adrenaline pumping, and I had to pull over to the side of the road to frantically type my apologies via iPhone.

I went through the tedium of fire drill, and OH&S online learning modules and quizzes, along with enrolment details and other administrative forms, then took a quick stroll around the campus to try to soak in the fact that I am now a full-time student again, all these years later. I loved it! People sitting around under trees in small clumps, reading, chatting, texting, so much to learn, so much time to relax and contemplate. Meanwhile, my pulse still had not dropped from the morning rush, I was now running about an hour late to pick up the kids. So, back in the car, race back to P’s house, pick up the kids, get them home, fed, and one in bed, the other in quiet time, and finally it’s time for my lunch.

Hmmm… so being a student this time around is not going to be quite the same experience as it was when I was young, single and carefree, but there will be some similarities – learning, reading, writing, no money…. and, oh well, I think that might be about it.

Wish me luck!