My husband has a Pre-Vet bachelor's degree, a master's degree in Veterinary Parasitology, and a PhD in Medical Microbiology.
My mother has a bachelor's degree, my father a master's in Education.
My sisters Beth and Esther have degrees in Spanish and Midwifery, respectively.
My little brother is in his last year of medical school, before he begins a cardiology residency.
My three sisters-in-law (Todd's sisters) have between them three bachelor's degree; two of them have already started work towards their master's, one is in the process of applying for a master's program.
My father-in-law has a law degree.
Of my six brothers-in-law, one has a law degree, one a master's in accounting, one a psychology degree, one a bachelor's in social work, one is in medical school (like my brother), one is working on his PhD.
Is it any wonder that I feel like the least educated person in my family? It's because I am!
The idea of why we do this to ourselves is on my mind during finals week as I wrap up this 21-credit hour semester. While I should be revising for my Shakespeare 442 final tomorrow, I am instead reflecting on the alternatives* -- what I would be doing if I wasn't battering my mind against religious dissent in the Middle Ages (and other topics of that ilk). I remind myself that while I may be the least educated person in my immediate circle -- surrounded as I am by those with multiple graduate degrees -- I am also accomplishing something that three quarters of the population will have neither the opportunity, nor perhaps the ability or desire to accomplish. All of this work will be worth it when I model for my kids the value of education, and when they see the legacy they have been left by their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.
*And stuffing my face with chocolate. That goes hand-in-hand with finals.
We went to a living nativity tonight. Libby is now desperate to convert to the church that put it on. "So, how exactly do you join a church?" she has asked me at least half a dozen times.
"I was wondering," she said, "why there are only two tickets?"
"Because just you and I are going," I replied.
"WOO HOO!" was her response.
On the way home, we belted out a duet of "Silent Night" which was exquisite...ly painful to hear.
"It's not a competition for who does more to help around the house. But if it was, I'd be winning."
We both think we do the most. Nothing will change our minds.
Kids to school. American Women Poets. Current Political Ideology. Black Women Writers. Presentation. Errands. Medieval Drama. Libby's strings concert. Order pizza. Jacques is two! Beer. Glee with the kids. Night night.
My darling niece, Evan, asked me to please blog, because -- she says -- that's the only way she knows what's going on in our lives. Apart from facebook, of course! Anyway, I thought I would see if I could manage a photo and a few sentences every day until the end of the year.
When I woke up from my illness-induced nap, the snowflakes coming down were as big as pillows.
I made a cake for our 14-year wedding anniversary, but Libby's cat licked the icing off one side.
Oh well, you can't win them all.
Well, that's over with. Time to make my usual vow never to go through it again. Still, it was fun.
I've attached some fairly lackluster videos, taken after the treaters were pretty much gone. Enjoy.
The Pirate Ship/Cave in the garage was the usual good stuff, with two upgrades: we added an upper level of three stern "windows" to enhance the visibility of the liquid light projector (that's the three "boxes" in the back, with the octopus drawing in the center); and we worked up a new lighting effect inside the treasure chest, creating a muted rainbow light coming up from the bottom by installing an acrylic sheet halfway down and putting LED blinking lights underneath. Neat, and both worked well.
A skeleton under two strobes graced the minivan in the driveway and AGAIN received very favorable reactions, which is hilarious considering it took less time to do than anything else.
The green laser kaleidoscope was a new effect, but was only partly effective given the rainy weather limiting its placement and the fact that street lights and other lights muted what is otherwise a spectacular device.
A new idea pretty much panned out: The Haunted Mailbox. I had envisioned a writhing mass of tentacles coming out from the mailbox, with the whole thing shaking, and strobe lighting and spooky sounds and smoke billowing out. Maybe next year will do better, but this year I ran into a lot of problems: 1) the dry ice diffused too gradually to be noticed, 2) the strobe was too weak or too far in and even with scary noises, I don't think anyone even noticed it because it was also too dark, 3) the Bumble Ball that was supposed to give the whole thing the shakes died out on us and since KB toys inconveniently liquidated earlier this year, I could not find a workable substitute. So we'll redesign for next year.
A last minute idea had to be jettisoned because of windy weather: the giant octopus, to hover over the street. I'm banking that one for next year.
In case I don't keep my vow.
What's new with you? I want to know.
With me?
My sister Beth and her husband Alfredo welcomed a delightful new addition, baby Isaac, into their family at the beginning of the month. Yay!
Esther came to visit from England for about two weeks. We went to New York City. We went to Chicago. We turned 32. We ate and ate and ate. We laughed almost non-stop. I was sad to say goodbye.
My classes are kicking my butt, but in a good way; kicking me into shape intellectually. I feel as if I am slowly being shaped into a better scholar and a better thinker. With the exception of one class which is fairly dull, I am being challenged and pushed. As part of my undergraduate research training scholarship I am working with a faculty member who looks at teachers who become sexually involved with their students. I am delving into Shakespeare more deeply than ever before. I am researching medieval drama. I am learning data analysis and research methodology. I am soaking up brilliant literature and finding that my Current Political Ideologies class, in which we discuss philosophy and psychology more than we do politics, is really just inexpensive therapy. I love it all. This kind of stuff makes me love being a student.
Love it so much, apparently, that I am studying (in theory -- certainly not in practice) for the GRE so that I can -- with luck -- get accepted into the Master's program that I'm eyeing.
I am also, for the fifth time, teaching a class for gifted students through Purdue's Gifted Education Research Institute.
No matter how busy I am, my little ones -- as enchanting as ever -- still need me just as much. They also need those pesky quotidian necessities such as food, clean clothes, rides to activities and friends' houses, and someone to listen to the stories of their day. I'm not going to lie: finding a balance is hard. Fortunately, my little world is full of very supportive people and I am not afraid to admit to my limitations. I can call my mother-in-law, tell her I need help, and know that she will be willing to get on a plane and take over the reins at home for a while. She arrives in about two weeks.
Photos of Esther's visit to follow. In the meantime, here's a taste of NYC.
This opinion article from the Sacramento Bee is a wake up call for those of us in publicly funded higher education. It's shocking - but then again - maybe not. The public here in California is clearly hesitant to fund higher education and back the concept of 'access to all.' That seems incredibly short sighted to those of us who think higher education is the key to California's future economic development and competitiveness. The public systems have tough choices ahead; many realize that increasingly privatizing operations is probably inevitable.
It's especially poignant to me that the author points out parallels to Iceland - one of my other favorite places. Oh how things have gone awry!
