Barking Dogs, the Smell of Pine and Basketball

I am enjoying my downtime. My dogs are outside having a barkfest with the neighbor dogs as I write this. One neighbor left me a note in my mailbox teling me my dogs bark too much. The other neighborhood dogs howl when the fire truck in the neighborhood goes by, but mine don't. I guess he just doesn't like barking dogs. Such is life.

Megan and her boyfriend picked out a real tree for me this year, so my house smells like a pine forest. It's a very soothing smell for me because it brings back memories of camping with my parents in the forests of northern Arizona when I was younger.

Megan's boyfriend in the only senior on his high school basketball team this year. Needless to say, we have gone to several of his games and will be attending one this evening as well.

Elizabeth Shepherd, from the Moon and the Willow Tree, http://betsyanne.blogspot.com/, encouraged me in my academic pursuits. She said going back to school as an older student really is difficult. I think one of the main reasons why is because life is happening all around us. I have continued trudging through my classes in spite of attending Megan's volleyball tournaments in Georgia every weekend in September and October, working through the residuals from a divorce, an aging parent and a host of other things going on in my life. Do our younger counterparts have such hectic lives? Of course not! That's where we nontrads need to stick together. We need to encourage one another and spur each other on.

Yes, being a nontrad is a challenge that not many people pursue. We are to be congratulated for having the stick-to-it-iveness and courage to forge ahead. We will make it through this, these hectic days of life and school. We will walk across that stage and get our diploma. We will look back on this and be grateful to family and friends as they encouraged us on our journey.

So, fellow nontrads, I raise a glass of egg nog in your honor. May your next term, semester, etc., be better than the last and may we all reach that goal of getting our degree with honor and dignity! Bottoms up! Stay tuned . . .