Jen Goes To College

It happens to the best of us...Marriage, divorce, and finally single w/children.  I know, I have become a statistic.  You know the one.  The one where the "forever after" turns into, "Divorce papers?  Where do I sign!"  Then there is all that free time I have found myself with.  You know what I mean!  All that time created when I quit my dead-end job, sold everything that wouldn't fit in the car, (no one would give me a bid on the kids), and drove off into the sunset with the 2.5 kids meshed in between all our earthly possessions.  Luckily for my mom, we didn't have a dog! 

At 30 something, finding work in a new place was impossible with the recession after 9/11.  I was over qualified and a woman with warehousing skills. That meant I was competing with men in a man's world.  It seemed like they had put out the familiar sign--"No girls allowed".  It didn't matter that I had run a cross-docking facility for months while my boss was ill.  It didn't matter that I could work circles around most of the men in my department.  It didn't matter that I had the best skills for the position after my boss was forced to retire because of his illness. (I did not get the promotion and was asked to train my supervisor).   I was a pariah because I was a WOMAN. 

That is when I decided to throw in the towel and go back to college.  It was the best decision, next to deciding to get my divorce, that I have ever made.  I am about to enter my Sophomore year at a good university and making good grades.  Had I known college was this much fun, I would have gone back years ago. Considering where I started and where I am headed, I am as excited about my future as anyone could possible be.  Watch Out World!  Make room for JEN!