Mama PhD

I was fortunate to be included in a retirement party for Duke Political Science professor, David L. Paletz, one of the foremost scholars of Political Communication and a jury chair for the Full Frame Documentary Festival in Durham, N.C. I’ve written about David before in this column -- an inspiring teacher who introduced me to feminism, media critique and a desire to be a filmmaker.

I just outed my first PhD at-home mom in our new community. (This fall, our family moved across the country as my husband took a new professorship at a university nearer to our families – I’ve blogged about this several times now:

Last week I received my daughter's last college tuition bill. When I started writing this blog, she had not yet graduated from high school -- can it be? I looked at the tuition bill with a mixture of anxiety and gratitude.

Over the past week, as we attempt to return to normal after Sandy, the term that recurs most often in conversation with friends and colleagues is "9/11," as in, "Remember after 9/11, when we..." or "People were more eager to volunteer after 9/11."

When I teach statistics, I often point out that some values we calculate have different notation depending on whether they are calculated from the entire population or a from a sample taken from that population, even if the calculations are identical in the different situations. I explain this to my students by telling them a woman’s name, and asking them if they know who that woman is. They almost always have no idea who she is.

I have lived in Wisconsin for the past 13 years, but I’ve never identified myself as a mid-westerner. Most of my extended family lived or are living in the northeast and many of my friends are on the west coast. I warmed to Wisconsin slowly.

As I write this, it’s Election Day and, depending on the outcome, we might all need a little comfort food this week. When the days are dreary, stress is heavy, and everything looks bleak, sometimes the best way to mother oneself is to cook up a pot of sustenance that warms the house and sends odor plumes wafting out the door. Of course exercise, fresh air, hobbies, cuddles with pets or kids, wine, and outings with friends are all great for stress relief. Food certainly isn’t the solution to all woes. But a nice meal doesn’t hurt.

This post will go up on Election Day in the US. I'm writing it on the afternoon before, and I have not yet voted. Virginia doesn't have early voting without a valid excuse, and I have to confess that even if it did, I would probably have waited: I like participating in a civic duty along with my fellow-citizens. There's always a festive air at the polling place, a sense that something important is going on, and I like to be a part of that. I also like wearing my "I Voted!" sticker to class, reminding my students (many of whom will have voted by absentee ballot already, I hope) that there's still time.