tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31680726364910485452012-02-16T19:05:21.518-08:00The daily struggles and victories of my life and adventures as a single mother in a rural mountain town. Slowly, but surely, I'm adapting to more change than I've ever known - moving my two teens to a new town (population 500 and my nearest family six hours away), buying a new house, finishing graduate school (paying student loans), starting a new career, getting to know the boyfriend that I never expected to find, and having just one mediocre restaurant to eat at.Divorced Mom, Rural NP, Reluctant GF, Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00083213185054980738noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3168072636491048545.post-3045809989489273392010-02-06T12:00:00.000-08:002010-02-06T17:16:36.079-08:00<p>My son is 16 and my daughter is 14 and I’ve been divorced from their father since 1997. After the divorce, I put myself through nursing school and became an RN (2000). I worked for a few years and then went back to school to become a nurse practitioner (2009). It wasn’t always easy, but I made it…WE made it! I planned to stay close to my parents after graduation, but the kids and I discussed it decided to consider moving to a new place. The children and I went on interviews and made the unanimous decision to move. Within three months of graduation we moved six hours away from our family and everything familiar – to a rural mountain town of just 500 people. The kids were used to going to a small Catholic school so we thought the school size was perfect. I owe more than my share of money to Sallie Mae and the government has federal student loan repayment programs in rural towns. Although it seemed like a perfect fit at first, things didn’t really fall into place right away. I was looking forward to a slower pace and a more relaxed environment, but it hasn’t been quite what I’ve expected…</p><p><strong>Where we live:</strong><br /> Population is 500<br /> Total area 0.5 square miles<br /> Median age is 49 years<br /> Racial makeup is 99.9% white<br /> 225 households, 15% of households are single mothers<br /> For every 10 females over the age of 18, there are only 6 males<br /> Median male income is $21,000, median female income is $17,000</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3168072636491048545-304580998948927339?l=heatherapn.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Divorced Mom, Rural NP, Reluctant GF, Chefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00083213185054980738noreply@blogger.com