A New Hope

As I sit here just finishing up watching the Democratic National Convention I am filled with tears. I am amazed that 45 years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. made his now famous "I Have a Dream" speech, I am seeing his dream come to life. Even as few as 10 years ago I was in denial that America was ready for a minority president - whether that minority be black, Hispanic or female. I am so proud of how we have evolved as a country. I am so proud that our country, as a whole, looks not at the outside but at the values and morals and beliefs of the people vying to become president.

I am not saying I am going to vote for him. Since I've been able to vote I have never been so unsure. I'm not in love with either one of the choices for president and both scare me in their own ways. He was very inspirational, but is that enough? I really need to look to find out more substance about him. There are so many things that Obama said that I found myself nodding my head with in agreement. I didn't agree with everything, to be sure, but I agreed a whole lot more than I imagined I would. This is the first time I've been able to listen to him without children and whatnot interrupting, so please, don't hate on me that I'm not completely up to date on current events. I am looking forward to the Republican National Convention to see how I feel, especially to find out who McCain has chosen as his running mate - which is supposedly going to happen tomorrow. Even more, I look forward to seeing the debates.

Man, my husband is going to be so happy when this election is over. He is SO not into politics. I think he cares more now, but still...he just doesn't really care so much.

Oh, and how cool is it that the MLK biography I ordered from Paperbackswap got here today? Hmm...I think I know what I will be reading before bed.

Taking a Leap of Faith

A few months ago, I applied - somewhat haphazardly - for a program specifically for military spouses to be come an accredited financial counselor. Hmm....let's just see if I get it. In all honesty, I didn't really think much about applying. I think I was more interested in seeing if I would even get it. I didn't care if I got it and didn't really expect to with my lack of any real experience to speak of.

Well, the day comes when they were supposed to let you know if you were accepted to the program. And then the day went. I realized I was actually disappointed that I didn't get the congratulatory email. I think I realized then that I actually wanted into the program. Or maybe I just wanted to get a "yes". Who knows. Who knew that the next day I would get that email, it was just a day late.

I was pretty excited, ok, make that very excited - though I was very cautious at the same time. I filled out my resume - again - in order to determine my number of practicum hours. Ok, it wasn't bad, right in the middle. So I filled out the letter of intent and mailed it in.

YIKES! What have I just done? I have been questioning my sanity ever since. Ok, I've been questioning it even more since yesterday when I picked up my books from the post office. Seriously? What was I thinking? I've got 2 courses to take and about 5 books to read and my husband will be gone at least 2 of the weeks of my first course (either 5 or 9 weeks depending on which session I get enrolled in) and I've still got other commitments to adhere to as well as taking care of my 2 children and maintaining a home! *deep breath*

So I'm considering this a leap of faith. I'm guessing - hoping, praying - that this is the Lord's will for me. That if I had really thought about it I would have never said yes. I know that with this accreditation I will be able to find a job and begin to build my career (if I so choose) once we leave here/kids are in school/whenever or wherever we live basically.

So, here I sit, at 12:30 a.m., suffering from insomnia and thinking about all the things I should be doing (like reading that Personal Finance text, or sleeping) and realizing that sometimes God doesn't allow us to really think things through before we make a decision. In my case, I think this was a good thing. I would have over thought it and said no. I love being a student and who knows? Maybe this is my calling in life and I don't even know it.