Scrappy,

also, many institutions also have financial support geared toward "older" graduate students, so you might be able to have some additional financial assistance as well.

I think the buffista populace endorse your idea!

< stamped and approved >

Very weird stuff, brenda. Is he a good candidate for the job?

Nah, we agreed it's not right for him. But still so funny.

We did meet once in the intervening years, about 4 years ago at a going away party for someone else, which is how we first made the connection. But I'd forgotten that this was the same guy.

Also funny: Lucy seems to have made an impression on him. On both occasions, he was all "you've got a really big dog, right? And you used to live at 515 Briar?"

So, I'm kinda thinking of going back to school to get a Master's in Social Work to become a therapist. I'm 56. Is this nuts?

I totally endorse this plan Scrappy.

I was 40 when I finished my MS and, in the ensuing years realized something that should have been obvious to me from the outset. People are more comfortable talking to someone with some miles on them.

I certainly support your practice by buying a Scrappy Is Wise t-shirt.

You're already a wonderful therapist, Scrappy. Your wise words have helped me many times. All you need is the piece of paper.

Oy. I'm not friends with my mother on facebook. A while ago, I promised her that, when I had kids, if I was posting photos and stories about them on facebook, then I'd friend her. She just sent me a message trying to convince me that this promise extends to her "granddog," as well.

What la-nubian said, Scrappy. I work for the Adult Career and Special Student Services dept. on my campus and we offer a number of different grants and scholarships for returning adult students: [link]

If you scroll down, you'll see a number of links to general resources: websites to look for other scholarships, financial advice, government assistance, etc.

I friended my mom. I figure I'll have a better chance of her being willing to dogsit if I go away for a few weeks during the summer if she thinks of the dog as her granddog. Plus, I'm getting tired of her complaining about not being my friend.

Thank you all for the support and the info. Buffistas are the best.

Note to self, no more bawdy stories about Hil on Facebook.

My parents always love the granddog pics posted.

I totally send granddog pics to the folks' digital picture frame.