Mommy issues of the other kind ...

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I'm in the midst of knocking out pre-reqs. Thus far I've managed to take only online or Saturday morning courses to minimize the time away from my family (I work fulltime, have a long commute, married w/ 10yo DD). To take Micro I have to do 2 nights a week and my family is supportive. Last night was my first class. I left home at 5:10am as usual, went to work, then straight to my 6:20pm class, then home where I arrived at 9:30pm. The extent of my time with my daughter was waking her for a sleepy goodbye kiss in the morning (she then went back to sleep) and waking her again for a sleepy goodnight kiss when I got home. Granted I was exhausted after the long day, but I went to bed feeling like the worst mother in the world :( I know all the rationalizations - I AM doing this to make a better life for our family, I AM modeling the importance of education, I AM showing by example that good things require work - but I still feel like a horrible mother.

I understand your feelings, too. I have a two sons, ages 3 1/2 and 17 months. For now, I'm taking two night classes a week. Even though I'm only gone two nights a week, I still have to spend a lot of time studying at home. This has greatly limited the amount of time I used to spend with my boys and my husband. Thankfully, my DH is supportive and my 3 1/2-yr-old seems supportive, too. I do miss tucking my 17-mo-old in bed on the nights that I'm at school, but I know my DH does a good job at that, too.

I just remind myself over and over again that my nursing degree will allow us to put our boys in a private Christian school, move into a bigger home (we're in a 2-br townhome), go to DisneyWorld, etc. ... without my degree, those things would be virtually impossible. So, those thoughts keep me going! Also, as a previous poster said, kids really are great about these things. We parents beat ourselves up, but kids don't take things half as hard as we imagine.

Oh, my cousin is almost finished with clinicals, and she told me that one thing that helped her regarding missing her daughter was to plan one special day for the two of them every week. On Mondays, for example, she and her daughter always do something special together -- like the park, a kids' museum, the movies, or even just Chic-fil-A. But she always reserves that day for them. She says that has made a huge difference in how much "mommy guilt" she has felt! :)

By the way -- you're a great mom and you're making a great decision to be a nurse!!!

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