When Ken asked me to marry him, I was 18 years old.  And after I said yes, my mom and dad gave their approval on the condition that I start college in the following September.  But we were in Pensacola in September, and Ken only had a few more months to be stationed there before we would move to California.  It seemed foolish to start something that I couldn't finish, so I didn't enroll.

After the first of the next year, we talked about it again, and our discussion centered around whether I would start college, or we would start a family and I would go to college later.  Ken was almost 9 years older than I was, and he commented that if we waited four more years until I finished a college degree that he would be in his thirties.  To tell the truth, I had no interest in college.

So we had a family first.  Nine years and four children later, when Ken left for Viet Nam, I enrolled.  Ken and I had promised my folks that I would go to college--I just failed to promise I would go immediately after we were married.

It was important to my mother that I go.  Her mom had an 8th grade education, and her dad quit at the end of the 2nd grade to help his family on the farm.  (Late 1800's)  But because their life had been so hard, they determined that all five of their children would graduate from college.  Which all five of them did.  One, my uncle Ray, was an Oklahoma teacher of the year, and taught Physics at the US Naval Academy.  Another, Thurman, was a chemical engineer, graduated high school two years early and had a degree from OU before he was twenty.  He sank the oil well that is on the Oklahoma Capital lawn.  The three daughters all taught school.  They all worked to send each other.

So, when I enrolled at Oklahoma Military Academy, my mom was finally happy.  Everyone of the next generation--my cousins--but me,,had completed college by the time I enrolled.  I was a late bloomer?  Once I started, I enrolled in something every semester for over 25 years.  When I taught at the college, I would arrange my schedule so that my hour off coincided with some class on campus that I hadn't previously taken.  Engineering Physics, Dynamics, Statics and Strengths, etc.  Stuff most people would find boring, I thought was fun.  (So there, I've told you another story about me)