There have been some rumblings from the peanut gallery asking why I am not working right now. I graduated from MTSU with a double major in Sociology/Psychology and a minor in Theater about a month before Sarah was born. I could have gotten my teaching certification if I stayed another year, but it was a year of student teaching and I was more interested in my newborn. When my first husband left us, I went back to school at UTK. The education department turned me down because I was older and had children. I should have fought them harder, but I was too beaten down at that point. I got a job offer when I was just two classes shy (World History I & II) of a second degree, this time in Human Services with an Interpreting minor. I am one of those geeks who actually likes doing research. I consider myself fairly computer literate and I know childrens’ mental health issues from inside and outside perspectives. I live and breathe Asperger’s/Autism and all of the therapeutic, behavioral and medication issues that surround it. I am worth 12K a year if I work full-time, available to travel anywhere and anytime. I know because that is what I did for my entire pregnancy with Amy. I travelled the state, spent my every waking moment on the phone or computer and got absolutely no respect from my employer, clients or family. In the end I was so exhausted that I spent the last month of pregnancy sick. While I was in the hospital giving birth, my employer was leaving me voice mail messages asking me to do things for him. Even if I had a work wardrobe (which I don’t), do you know what it would cost to have childcare for 5 children? Until I find a better option, my place right now is with my children, spending my spare moments working on the drafts of the non-fiction books I am writing.