tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55521842024-03-07T18:24:09.468-05:00midlife mamamusings of a mom at midlifeLibbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.comBlogger951125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-61654933930388154752011-11-08T19:22:00.001-05:002011-11-08T19:23:06.742-05:00The book bagNick needs a new bag. And that's what I <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama-phd/mothering-mid-career-book-bag">blogged about this week at Inside Higher Ed</a>.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-63703425125960525792011-10-31T22:29:00.003-04:002011-10-31T22:29:45.175-04:00Halloween MuffinsI just didn't get into Halloween this year. But I did bake some muffins! <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama-phd/mothering-mid-career-halloween-treat">Recipe (and a few random musings) over at IHE, as usual...</a>Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-18138020080103455572011-10-24T20:26:00.002-04:002011-10-24T20:26:40.383-04:00Academic GuiltWhy do I feel <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mothering-mid-career-academic-guilt-weekend-edition">academic guilt</a>? That's what I blogged about at Inside Higher Ed...Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-23154360971192057802011-10-18T09:54:00.004-04:002011-10-18T09:54:39.421-04:00InterruptionsI was writing my blog post, but I kept getting interrupted. And <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_academic_interrupted">then I wrote about the interruptions</a>. As one commenter has already noted, the interruptions, they are actually my job...Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-24539395678259924722011-10-11T07:56:00.002-04:002011-10-11T07:58:21.271-04:00We live to serve...What do we get out of academic service? Having spent my fall break on it, that's what I'm blogging about at <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_service_and_the_profession">Inside Higher Ed today...</a>Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-37419754062051856492011-10-04T08:00:00.000-04:002011-10-04T08:00:01.290-04:00Cross Country, really?Once upon a time I was a soccer mom. Now, I'm not. And for some reason that's what I felt like <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_not_a_soccer_mom">blogging about </a>at Inside Higher Ed today.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-51903978418041500402011-09-20T11:20:00.001-04:002011-09-20T11:22:03.370-04:00Who Speaks for Anon?Over at <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_who_speaks_for_anon">Inside Higher Ed</a> this week, I reflect on how I got here. (Where, you ask? Why, here, in your computer!)Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-54524554127612973942011-09-15T08:46:00.002-04:002011-09-15T08:47:25.443-04:00Told you I was busyI published <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_the_week_in_bullet_points">this post</a> on Monday, but I'm only getting around to linking it here today. Sigh.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-71903673382525466522011-09-06T10:04:00.002-04:002011-09-06T10:05:14.352-04:00Feminism, Baking, and a New Muffin RecipeAll in one <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_feminism_and_baking">easy-to-read blog post</a>, over at IHE!Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-61267235602705161762011-08-30T12:16:00.002-04:002011-08-30T12:17:13.121-04:00storm damagePerusing old entries, I've discovered that this blog is a useful record of past storms. So <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_irene_s_aftermath">here</a> is my Irene entry...and, for the record, we don't have power back yet and I am getting crankier by the minute about that.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-90428198885437809472011-08-23T10:50:00.001-04:002011-08-23T10:51:42.923-04:00This year's transitionThe new semester has begun for me, but as always, not for the kids. Still, I'm reflecting on what this year's transition means, over at <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_this_year_s_transition">Inside Higher Ed</a>...Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-37069266741634638942011-08-16T08:59:00.002-04:002011-08-16T09:00:09.362-04:00Back to...somethingI'm reflecting on work, and getting back to it (or something) over at <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_my_own_work">Inside Higher Ed</a> today...Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-82837618688446003462011-08-02T08:25:00.002-04:002011-08-02T08:26:24.632-04:00Fourteen years<a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_changes">This week at Inside Higher Ed</a> I am reflecting on a few of the changes I've seen in the last fourteen years. Why fourteen years? Because it was Nick's birthday yesterday!Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-51247522343206254852011-07-26T07:16:00.002-04:002011-07-26T07:19:11.677-04:00Talking about the newsFor some reason I felt like talking about the news in my <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_when_the_news_is_too_much">blog post for Inside Higher Ed</a> this week. I was grateful for the news from New York in amongst all the tragedy, but overall it was a pretty bleak weekend.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-48245805710149568782011-07-19T09:13:00.003-04:002011-07-19T09:14:43.611-04:00Did you miss me?I took a few weeks off from <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/back_from_vacation">Inside Higher Ed</a>--and from pretty much everything else, too! Vacation was glorious, but now I'm back at work.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-65346936166269749482011-06-21T11:45:00.001-04:002011-06-21T11:46:36.906-04:00Summer Off? Summer Job? Or what?Over at I<a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_another_summer_off_post">nside Higher Ed's Mama PhD</a> blog, a lot of us seem to be thinking about what summer means to us, and to our kids.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-35317631325742365912011-06-14T07:00:00.002-04:002011-06-14T07:01:24.958-04:00End of an EraNick graduates from middle school this week, but the bigger milestone is the one I <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_end_of_an_era">blogged about at Inside Higher Ed</a> today. (Hint: it involves a uniform.)Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-62853583771200278092011-06-07T11:20:00.001-04:002011-06-07T11:22:19.115-04:00Transparent TeachingDo you talk about why you do what you do in class? Do your students tell you why they're there, or what their expectations are? That's what I<a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_transparent_teaching"> blogged about this week at Inside Higher Ed</a>.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-77554100411467957412011-05-24T13:00:00.002-04:002011-05-24T13:00:56.560-04:00this week's milestoneHmm. Daughter home from college, me away at workshop. What's wrong with this picture? That's what I <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_a_first">blogged about today at Inside Higher Ed</a>.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-24374915429979313952011-05-16T22:33:00.001-04:002011-05-16T22:34:24.265-04:00Apparently blogger was downBut I haven't posted in so long, I didn't notice. Still, <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_deadlines">here's something</a> I did manage to write--I even met my deadline!Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-63732559901494185092011-04-19T11:42:00.001-04:002011-04-19T11:43:20.299-04:00Call me crazy......but I kinda like April. Not everyone in academe does, though, so <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_the_cruellest_month">I blogged about it</a> at IHE today.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-14579686351034761682011-04-05T10:11:00.001-04:002011-04-05T10:12:40.958-04:00Going away, coming homeI went to a conference last week, and then I came back. And t<a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_traveling_alone_reprise">hen I blogged about</a> it a little bit at IHE.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-47195992349243190172011-03-29T08:24:00.003-04:002011-03-29T08:26:00.153-04:00March MadnessSo, you may have heard, a team from my town is in the Men's Final Four. No, it's not the Spiders (though we did make it to the Sweet Sixteen)--it's the VCU Rams. And that's actually <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_march_madness">the last thing I want to blog about</a> today.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-40691494619923474062011-03-21T21:52:00.002-04:002011-03-21T21:54:32.904-04:00Spring Break #2Mariah got home Saturday. Today it was 70 here in Richmond, while it snowed in New England--so she's enjoying her spring break so far. <a href="Mothering at Mid-Career: Full Nest While Sue O’Doherty prepares for the empty nest, I’m happy to have our nest refilled this week as our daughter is home for spring break. She drove home Saturday and has been catching up on both sleep and reading so far. It’s delightful to have her home, though I can’t spend as much time with her as I’d like. Our break was two weeks ago, and things are now, as I said last week, heating up for the end of the semester. So there are meetings and class prep as usual, not to mention the conference paper I’m finishing up, taxes and financial aid forms, and the summer plans we’re working on. Still the house feels right, somehow, with both our children under the roof. It’s also convenient to have her here, since her younger brother has some high school visits to make this week. Having an extra driver around will make a difference as we negotiate the various different pickups and dropoffs. Mariah is studying anthropology and one of our ongoing conversations since she’s been home has been about various kinds of privilege—who has it, who recognizes it, and what difference it makes. So often we are blind to our own privilege; I know I often focus on the difficulties of balancing work and family, for example, while ignoring the privilege that allows me to enjoy both, and to have them both be so rewarding. Mariah and I talk a lot about choices, too, and she’s starting to see more clearly how the choices her father and I have made are affecting her. She has the privilege of attending a private university, for example, but because of the work we do and the salaries we earn, that requires substantial financial aid (thus the forms I’ve been filling out this week) as well as work-study on her part. She has friends who are traveling abroad for spring break, while she is just grateful for the hand-me-down car from my mother that enabled her to come home on her own schedule. (A huge gift, one for while we are all grateful!) I love the way I see her applying what she learns in class to her own life, and as we talk about her studies I hope my students can have this kind of conversation—with parents, friends, or faculty members—as well. That’s another privilege Mariah has, of course: with two professors for parents, making connections between your studies and your life is not optional. (I’m not sure she’s always felt this to be a privilege, in fact, though this week it seems to be.) I’m learning from her, as well—today I did some research for my conference paper while she read essays in medical anthropology, and we shared particularly interesting passages with one another—so I heard about cultural differences in attitudes towards blood donation while she heard bits and pieces from 1848 reviews of Jane Eyre. In both cases we confront our assumptions about what it means to be an individual: is blood an integral part of a person, or a common good to be shared? Is Jane’s anger an example of her author’s failure of taste, or a legitimate expression of privilege denied? How do these ways of thinking about selfhood relate to our own assumptions? At its best, this life of the mind is a distinct pleasure and privilege, one I’m happy to share with my family. Remind me of this during finals week! Mothering at Mid-Career: Full Nest While Sue O’Doherty prepares for the empty nest, I’m happy to have our nest refilled this week as our daughter is home for spring break. She drove home Saturday and has been catching up on both sleep and reading so far. It’s delightful to have her home, though I can’t spend as much time with her as I’d like. Our break was two weeks ago, and things are now, as I said last week, heating up for the end of the semester. So there are meetings and class prep as usual, not to mention the conference paper I’m finishing up, taxes and financial aid forms, and the summer plans we’re working on. Still the house feels right, somehow, with both our children under the roof. It’s also convenient to have her here, since her younger brother has some high school visits to make this week. Having an extra driver around will make a difference as we negotiate the various different pickups and dropoffs. Mariah is studying anthropology and one of our ongoing conversations since she’s been home has been about various kinds of privilege—who has it, who recognizes it, and what difference it makes. So often we are blind to our own privilege; I know I often focus on the difficulties of balancing work and family, for example, while ignoring the privilege that allows me to enjoy both, and to have them both be so rewarding. Mariah and I talk a lot about choices, too, and she’s starting to see more clearly how the choices her father and I have made are affecting her. She has the privilege of attending a private university, for example, but because of the work we do and the salaries we earn, that requires substantial financial aid (thus the forms I’ve been filling out this week) as well as work-study on her part. She has friends who are traveling abroad for spring break, while she is just grateful for the hand-me-down car from my mother that enabled her to come home on her own schedule. (A huge gift, one for while we are all grateful!) I love the way I see her applying what she learns in class to her own life, and as we talk about her studies I hope my students can have this kind of conversation—with parents, friends, or faculty members—as well. That’s another privilege Mariah has, of course: with two professors for parents, making connections between your studies and your life is not optional. (I’m not sure she’s always felt this to be a privilege, in fact, though this week it seems to be.) I’m learning from her, as well—today I did some research for my conference paper while she read essays in medical anthropology, and we shared particularly interesting passages with one another—so I heard about cultural differences in attitudes towards blood donation while she heard bits and pieces from 1848 reviews of Jane Eyre. In both cases we confront our assumptions about what it means to be an individual: is blood an integral part of a person, or a common good to be shared? Is Jane’s anger an example of her author’s failure of taste, or a legitimate expression of privilege denied? How do these ways of thinking about selfhood relate to our own assumptions? At its best, this life of the mind is a distinct pleasure and privilege, one I’m happy to share with my family. Remind me of this during finals week! http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_full_nest">So am I</a>, and that's what I'm blogging about today at IHE.Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-21906944282896610862011-03-15T07:33:00.001-04:002011-03-15T07:35:39.960-04:00Spring?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXxOQ41yffJLXAKRaFxnj0gAkregSMIl99cXNFbnAd1pgSFBpVSzDNEbwZv9K7hGnzVh5AlRO8E14NpHGjDqhHw1gO1pWi_0dyFh3o-k-c5JWxOMhNvtzlPRD2TwDJKUjqmg8kA/s1600/DSCF0004.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXxOQ41yffJLXAKRaFxnj0gAkregSMIl99cXNFbnAd1pgSFBpVSzDNEbwZv9K7hGnzVh5AlRO8E14NpHGjDqhHw1gO1pWi_0dyFh3o-k-c5JWxOMhNvtzlPRD2TwDJKUjqmg8kA/s200/DSCF0004.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584268899551859634" /></a><br />The cherry tree outside my office has bloomed--the earliest, I believe, since I started keeping track of such things (not all that long, then...) I knew it would be out when I went into the office yesterday morning and I even remembered my camera!<div><br /></div><div>And now (or within a week or two) <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/mothering_at_mid_career_sprint_spring">the sprint to the end of the semester</a> starts...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.com1