Snow + Cold + Ice =

NO SCHOOL!!!

Jourdyn's Christmas break was supposed to be from December 23 to January 6th. However, the winter mayhem that has struck Ohio has given her an extended vacation. Friday school was cancelled, yesterday (Monday) school was cancelled, and for some unknown reason today they had a two hour delay. Well, Rob and I just decided to keep her home because today was to be just a free day of movies, dancing and games at school. So today, she is home and going Christmas shopping with Grandpa instead.

I was doing some research about my next class and I was completely excited to find out that I need not to purchase any textbooks. Everything is provided and online! Yeah! You know though, just Sunday I was harassed about how I don't have a full-time job, like this person does and yet they can make time to see friends and family, so I must be just ignoring them. So I started to list all the things that I do. A part-time job, a mom of three kids, a wife running a home, a full-time unpaid ministry position (it really does consume between 30-40 hours or more of my time, especially during the times we have upcoming events) and I go to school full-time. It was when I got to this one that she said, "Yeah, but that's just online!" PET PEEVE ALARM!!!!! Rob's eyes said it all...to that person he was like "you're in trouble now!" He looked at me with one of those "don't say it, be nice" looks.

Hey I love to blog. I love to facebook. In fact, it's one way that I am able to keep up with people that I am unable to see because of my busy-ness and theirs. But I have to tell you that my online courses are more than a full-time job. In the majority of my classes, I spend 8 to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week either reading or discussing or writing papers. Northwest Nazarene University is not a fly-by-night operation...it is by far one of the most advance and demanding online programs that I have seen. Bowling Green's and Owens' were jokes. But NNU is an established private college, that isn't messing around with offering joke degrees online. Even a professor friend of mine was shocked by the amount of time, energy and requirements that NNU is asking of their students. I guarantee that I do more work online than I would do if I was in the classroom. I find myself having to "prove" myself more in my classes than I would if I were in a classroom face-to-face. And let's not forget that I'm a woman - the only woman - in a cohort of 12 to 13 men, who are great. But yet given my vocation, I am left feeling that I have to somehow demonstrate the veracity of my calling, of my intellect, and of my aptitude to hold the position that I will some day fill.

So, just a word of caution, you're treading on thin ice with me when it comes to wanting to tell me how I just go to school online.