Secret Housewife and her Open University Degree.

If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time ... firstly, thank you!!! Secondly, you will probably know that I have been studying with the Open University for the last 3 years. There is a page that links to every post I have ever written about my study on my tabs up above, from deciding whether or not to do it, through worry and self doubt, through to delight and thorough enjoyment.

Today is a day that I have thought of for a long time - the day that I write my blog and tell you my result ...

I am absolutely thrilled to be able to tell you that I have achieved my B.A (Hons) First Class. I was really hoping for a 2:1 so to get a First is something I can't quite believe!!!

I want to thank each and every one of you who have encouraged me, advised me and been with me on my journey. When I eventually attend my graduation ceremony at Ely Cathedral I will be a blubbering, beaming woman whose heart will burst with pride at achieving something I thought I had failed in my youth. Your support, along with that of my family, is what has kept me going when I doubted myself. Thank you so much.

Last essay of EA300 on the way, Degree nearly done ... who would have thought?!

Its a beautiful sunny day here, with the breeze blowing my washing on the line in my garden. I can see my neighbours celebrating a birthday with balloons and bunting glinting in the sunshine and the clouds are scudding through the heavens on an endless journey across the English countryside.

I am sitting at my kitchen table, working on the last essay of my Open University course. At least I was before I had this little break! Its due in a week on Thursday - the 24th May. I am so near and yet so far from achieving my goal of graduation.

I have been studying with the Open University for 3 years now and should be heading for a 2:1 Honours Degree if this last piece of work goes well. I started studying as one of those 'bucket list' things that I wanted to tick off before I grew too old and grey. There have been times when it seemed like an impossible task and each new year has found me looking at the fresh list of essay titles with fear and incredulity. Still, I have learnt so much along the way and this year my average score is 90%. I am proud to have achieved that.

When I dropped out of my original Degree course 27 years ago I thought that gaining a Degree would be something I could never do. I felt that I had failed to achieve my potential and yet dropping out was somehow meant to be. If I had not dropped out I would never have met my husband, had our children, worked in casinos, travelled around the world ... Back then I had the academic ability, but not the strength of character to continue.

I remember writing miserable poetry, alone in my room at Leicester University. I have never felt so lonely. I was due to travel to Rome for my last year of the course, to write a dissertation on 15th Century mosaics. I had dreamt of speaking fluent Italian, sitting in cafes discussing the world of art and literature. As it turned out I never made it to Italy. I couldn't face it. Now I look back and wonder what my tutor, whose name I can't remember, was doing when she didn't even reply to my letter saying that I couldn't continue and was leaving the course. Now I think with amazement of the lack of support given to a lonely, miserable girl who spent so much of her time in tears...

But to be honest, I don't spend more than a couple of seconds thinking that way. I am so grateful that I have come this far and shown the determination to keep going when things have been tough. I am glad that I have proved to myself that I am intelligent, I am determined.

Three years ago the journey to gaining my Degree seemed a long and impossible one. Today it is less than 2 weeks away. I am struggling with this essay, but I know that I will get it written and it will be in on time. I am so looking forward to the weeks after I have handed it in when I will know that I have achieved my goal and that I will never have that weight of work hanging over my head again! I am never going to write another essay!!!

This summer holiday I will not spend my time reading and taking copious notes. I plan to read books for pleasure, with no notes at all!!!

I am so grateful to my husband and boys for their unerring support in all this. I have, on occasion, not been an easy person with which to live! And I am forever grateful to my lovely sister-in-law who made me realise that I could do this, who encouraged me and who is just wonderful!

One day soon, in the next year, I know that I will attend my Graduation Ceremony, wear my gown and receive my Degree. I shall post photos of it when it happens and it will be one of the proudest moments of my life.

*Reminder to self - buy water proof mascara.

Book Review of The Silk Box by Shirley Mihoko Hairston

There are times when you just get a feeling about a book when you read the bumph on the back cover. When I read the blurb about Shirley Mihoko Hairston’s novel The Silk Box I knew that I had to read it and I hoped that it would live up to my expectations. I am extremely happy to be able to say that it did.

It is the true story of the writer’s parents – Mi-Chan, her mother, was a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb and Sonny, her father, a young black American stationed in Japan during the Korean War. Both have to cope with the prejudices of their society and yet, when they meet, the two societies fade away in the strength of their love – love at first sight.

The story of their lives unfolds like the petals of a flower, beautifully drawn by Shirley Mihoko Hairston. Most of the novel follows Mi-Chan and Sonny separately, showing the reader their lives and struggles, through flash backs, and by the end I was praying for them to be able to get together. Both face their trials and tribulations with integrity and honour. The thread of their story is intertwined with many other lives, occasionally touching each other’s lives and bound with the absolute certainty in both their hearts that they were meant to be together.

This is the story of their journey to be with each other.

The vivid images of Japan, America, the suffering of so many people and the joy earned through experience and love will remain with me for a very long time. Hairston writes like an artist, splashing gorgeous colours of emotion throughout The Silk Box, creating a story that flows effortlessly, a story I could only put down when other duties or sleep called. Her love of her parents and the incredible love they had for each other envelopes everything. To know that this is a true story is even more moving.

It is remarkable to read such an honest and well written book. It is one thing to have such a story to tell, it’s yet another to be able to write it in a way that guides the reader invisibly and enfolds them in the story you are writing. Shirley Mihoko Hairston does just this. As I reached the last pages of The Silk Box my heart ached. I just did not want it to end. I wanted to know everything about Mi-Chan and Sonny’s lives after the book had closed and I hope that the author will write a follow up book so I can immerse myself again in the lives of two amazing people and their family.

I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I have ever read. It both touched and inspired me and I would recommend it to anyone.

Article first published as Book Review of The Silk Box by Shirley Mihoko Hairston on Blogcritics.