Thanks to reality shows about plastic surgery and probably plenty of other societal influences, plastic surgery after kids has become a very common consideration. The mommy makeover. Just get a boob job and a tummy tuck. It is fine. You aren't really getting plastic surgery. You are just putting things back into place, undoing the damage to your body caused by pregnancy and sometimes childbirth. This isn't a cheap endeavor. It is like buying a nice new car.
So I have decided to give myself a different kind of makeover. Not that I wouldn't want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and not be able to tell that I have ever had kids, but in reality, I will never be 24 and childless again so no surgery can truly bring me back to that place. I have always thought that I could never go through with that kind of surgery because it seems like such a frivolous way to spend money. I decided there is another way to spend thousands of dollars, possibly frivolously, but at least I will be sending a better message to my kids besides appearance is everything, it is worth 3 years of college. College...oh yes, my point. My mommy makeover is a masters degree.
I have decided to go back to school to get my Masters in Public Administration specializing in non-profits. I have no idea what I will do with this degree. I would rather not think about that right now. I am currently enjoying my relatively responsibility-free, part-time job status and don't have any plans on changing it. I just think I would like to keep my options open for the future. I think if I do go back to work full time, or get a "real" job (my job is real, I just think of it so differently now that it isn't M-F, 8-4), I will want to move up and will need my masters, so I better just get it. Plus I think it will be good for me. I will feel better about myself. I will have a sense of accomplishment. Maybe even more self-worth. I will keep my brain from getting rusty, stay sharp, even though some days I talk about poop more than any other topic and often question if I am only talking to myself since nobody seems to be listening to me at all. Maybe I won't make money with this new degree. Maybe I will be tossing away thousands of dollars on a degree that I do nothing with. Maybe I will volunteer my time with some non-profit, or charity. Maybe I will start one of my own. Who knows? I will have the ability and the option and that is good enough for me right now. But I think that just goes into what I value about myself and what do I want other people to value about me. Is it my appearance or is it my mind? I think I have just voted mind.
