Huge surprise!

Have you ever been so surprised that a feather could knock you over? Well, after our days at the cabin, several days into the new year, 2013, I heard from Tucson.  I was accepted into that next program which began mid February!!

Lemon & Muffin best friends

Now what??  This certainly was the last thing I ever expected. New concerns now became evident:  cost of tuition, cost of travel, means of travel, weather... and to top it off my dear 12 y/o cat, Muffin, was declining steadily and needed medicine and vet care and was expected to die. Being retired now, life was presenting other issues that I was needing to figure out. Of course, the financial concerns undergirded everything.

As fast as these thoughts and concerns came, the phone rang just as fast...it was my credit union, with a proposal. They refreshed my memory saying I had wanted them to call me when the interest rates were appropriate so I could refinance my loan.  Rates had lowered and if I wanted to take an "add-on loan" the rate would be lower yet. Timing couldn't have been more perfect.

The whole training would encompass being in Tucson two weeks in February, then two more weeks in April, necessitating lots of expensive travel. By the time I had checked travel, debating whether it would be by plane, train, car or bus, comparing all these costs, the amount of the "add on loan"  came to the exact amount that I would have had to withdraw from my savings for the entire endeavor!! I don't think this was a co-incidence!