Graduate school at age sixty-six.

Going to graduate school has been a long standing goal of mine. It took me 20 years to earn a BS degree. That was 25 years ago. I started in international relations and political science at an university in another state. I fell in love as a freshman, got married as a sophomore and had our first child as a junior. Despite having earned an academic scholarship, I took a leave of absence to stay home with my baby and support my husband who was graduating from veterinary school. My plans were to finish school once we moved to my husband's first job as a veterinarian but I had our second child and we were barely scraping by financially, so I postponed my goals.

Twelve years later, and with a total of eight children, three biological and five adopted, I applied for and was accepted into the registered nursing program at the local community college. In two years, I received an associate degree in nursing, passed the state board exams and worked at the hospital as a registered nurse. At the same time, I studied for and passed state board licensing exams for real estate, which was a hobby of mine. We adopted one more child, a toddler, the following year.

A few years later, after my marriage of almost 20 years failed, I applied for admission to complete my BS degree. International relations and political science were no longer priorities, so I changed majors. In three years, I received a BS degree in technical journalism with a nursing minor. My goal then was to earn a master's degree in education in the severely handicapped learner program at a neighboring university.

One of my children, a Hispanic lad, adopted at age five months, before he was diagnosed with developmental disabilities and autism, was also a pituitary dwarf. He was the first mentally retarded person in our state to receive growth hormone injections. He received injections three times a week for seven years. Today, he is of average size for a person of his ethnic heritage. He lived in a private residential school from the age of eleven until a week before his 18th birthday, when he came to live with me. I applied for guardianship and have been his guardian ever since.

After I brought my special needs son home, I resumed my graduate studies, but I allowed family responsibilities to come first and withdrew again. Then, when my youngest adopted son left home at age 19 and my special needs son, who was 26, went to live in an adult foster home so he could be closer to his supported employment job, after 34 years, I was no longer providing direct care for any of my children. They were finally all on their own. By then, I had my real estate broker's license, restored houses on the side and worked as a RN part-time. I enrolled in the building construction training program at a community college. Once I completed it, I thought I was finished with school. I was almost 60 years old.

At age 61, after I started working at the hospital full time, I bought a house in town to restore and moved into it to avoid the long commute to the hospital each day. I also worked as a principal real estate broker. My plans were to eventually move to the same town as my special needs son, since I saw him during weekend visits.

When I was 64, I transferred to the hospital in the town where my special needs son lived and bought a nearby home. I've been there ever since. I still work at the hospital and still have my principal real estate broker's license, although I don't use it very much now.

At age 65, I married again, this time to a retired school superintendent who works as an educator for a non-profit organization. He teaches school children about natural resources. My new husband has his master's degree in education and he encourages me to complete mine, if that's what I want to do.

When I realized graduate school was still important to me, I applied to and was accepted into the adult education master's degree program at the state university. I've completed two terms so far and my GPA is 4.0. I applied for a scholarship, but don't anticipate being chosen because of my age and financial status. My husband and I both work part-time, have no debts, are frugal and I pay my tuition as I go.

This master's degree in adult education is a two-year program geared for working professionals. I'm learning that my age, which I thought would be a grave disadvantage, actually has little bearing upon my success. Attitude, determination and perseverance seem to be the key factors. It takes me twice as long to process information as it did when I was half my current age.

I'm embarrassed that I waited so long to try again for the master's degree. I'm also apprehensive about whether I'll be able to maintain my current grade point average. Some of my classmates already have graduate degrees and teach at the community college or university level. Most of us are working professionals. I am the only nurse.

I know if I focus on my goal and do not allow myself to be deterred by life situations which arise from time to time, I can succeed. I may be one of the oldest graduate students at this university when I do eventually finish, but who really cares about that?