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Showing posts from February, 2013

The Big Picture

When I was a little girl I wanted to be a marine biologist, or a lawyer, or a writer. When I got to high school, an English teacher introduced me to art history, which sparked my passion for combining literature and art to understand the past. It was also at that time that I learned Spanish, a language I'd continue to study, and practice, during my high school and college years. Throughout adolescence and into adulthood, I refined my interest in people and culture, our understandings of ourselves and eventually, I studied how "stuff" tells us about people, culture, and place. Growing up, my mom would say, "Why don't you become a physical therapist? They help people and it's a well-paying, secure job." Unfortunately, I paid no attention to her. Honestly, my math and science grades weren't exactly stellar enough to propel me into a good college program to study physical therapy or anything that would require me to successfully identify body parts o...

When Mommy's Away

I'm getting ready for another work trip and leaving the kids is always a mixed bag of emotions. This is my sixth year (co)running this particular student program, so my anxiety about the trip itself has lessened over time. My co-worker is a great partner in crime and we know how to think on our feet (Are you reading this? You know you love me, roomie!) When the girls were younger, there were actually some perks to working away from home. I got to sleep in, go to the bathroom by myself, eat without being asked 300 times to get a refill or pick up a dropped fork, and maybe even read a few pages of a book before falling asleep. Program coordination stress aside, it was as close to a break as I could get. A few years ago, Andy called these programs my vacation. I wouldn't exactly call being responsible for the well-being and professional development of a busload of kids in NYC, Washington DC, and Boston, a vacation but it was a change of pace. (Since that time, I've fought fo...