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I worked at a car dealership for 5 years leading up to my pregnancy. I bailed on going back to my job 3 days before maternity leave was set to end and tearfully informed my boss that I was going to stay home with my son and pursue my education. He wasn’t thrilled, but he was understanding and supportive. 

I began my nursing school journey when my son was just 4 months old at my local community college. My partner would meet me at the parking lot from work and we’d swap our sweet little boy. He would wait around until my break because my son needed to be nursed every few hours. So we tucked away in a quiet hallway of my school, and back to chemistry lab I would go. 

My little boy would come to daytime advisor meetings, interviews for nursing school, study sessions, you name it. Oliver was by my side. 

As he has grown older, and especially with the pandemic, we have shifted into a new phase (as many of us have). For instance, I’ve become a pretty darn good one-handed typist because I will never deny a snuggle session. I have also learned to ALWAYS have my study material handy, because you never know when a two hour “car nap” will happen. Thank goodness I can register my textbooks with Evolve and have access to everything on my tablet! Multitasking has become second nature. 

Having helpful resources has been vital to my success in maintaining straight A’s while being a full-time mommy. I particularly love the Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN to practice those tricky questions. 

Most of my schoolwork gets done after his bedtime (my prime homework/study hours fall between 9:00pm-1:00am). And seemingly in the blink of an eye Oliver is bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6:00am. 

Countless times I have studied for an exam or completed a homework assignment as my little boy was asleep in my arms. Oliver has also attended some Zoom lectures right alongside me. My sweet little guy. 

And you know what? Going through all of this is what FUELS me. To see that innocent, peaceful face right in front of me as I’m taking steps to accomplish my goal is what drives me to continue doing it. 

I’ll be honest, some days, it is just plain TOUGH. We don’t have a lot of help (and even if we did, the pandemic has made that difficult to impossible in many circumstances). Luckily, I have an amazingly supportive and helpful partner. We truly operate as a team and I am extremely grateful for that. But we still feel tired, we get burned out, we sometimes need breaks. And that’s OKAY. 

So, to my mama’s AND to everyone else, find your “why” and use it to motivate you. Take breaks if you need them and as a wise fish once said, “just keep swimming”.