NOM

The ladies from the ward Compassionate Service committee dropped by yesterday to deliver a meal. We were a little puzzled by this. I was in my study and I let Mrs. Hagoth entertain them. Apparently they heard that I'm going to college instead of working and assumed that I had been laid off and am desperately re-tooling for a new career. I found that kind of funny and in a way heartwarming.

I have had a couple of dozen encounters with people in my ward who asked my how work is going and when I tell them I quit work to go back to school full time I always get really confused (and kind of alarmed) looks. I try to make it clear that I chose to leave my career and devote myself to education but it seems to not make sense to them. Now the Compassionate Service ladies have been deployed to our doorstep, so I assume there must be some kind of committee discussion that has led to the conclusion that we need help. I guess I'm going to have to start wearing a t-shirt with a pie chart of my investment portfolio printed on it.

The funny thing is, when I tell my non-LDS, exmo and liberal-Mormon friends about what I'm doing they seem excited and/or envious of me. I'm just wondering if there is a Mormon-centric bias that ties priesthood to money provisioning and makes it seem borderline unrighteous to prioritize education above the opportunity to earn money. Is it seen as yet another way that I'm letting my family down and not magnifying my prie$thood?

By the way, the soup and bread was delicious!

I'm excited and envious for you which tells you my church status!

I'm not sure how your future plans morphed into soup and bread but that's generous of them. Of course unless you've been....

LOVE BOMBED!!

They used your schooling as an excuse. Quick, check the bread for a wiretap!

Enjoy the food and good luck with your schooling!

One more example of the wonderful people in the Church. They might not know the Hagoth's exact situation, but never the less they care. Hard to ask for a better attitude than that.

BTW, love the name Compassionate Service. In a Church where a new billion dollar business building can be described as a "sacred edifice", the existence of a Compassionate Service is a redeeming feature.

Wait. Hagoth, are you trying to tell me that someone can go to college simply because they enjoy learning and not be doing it as a way to increase their potential tithing donations?!? Are you trying to tell me that people can actually save money and then use it to follow their own dreams instead of serving church missions? What?!? This all just makes no sense. /s

My experience about school is that most people don't listen or remember anything. I have the same conversation every few months with acquaintances about my grad school decision. Nope, still not done with that 5-year plan that I started 2.5 years ago. Won't be done for another 2.5 years. It's the same math every time you ask. (5 years - completed years=remaining time left.) Whodda thunkit?

I think of it as Hagoth scaling the Maslow Pyramid using textbooks, bluebook exams, laptop, and a sturdy backpack as his climbing gear. Pursuing Man's Quest for Continuing Education is a noble task and not for the faint of heart.