The Mother
The sharing of my thoughts and experiences won’t mean much without some context. I will be personal, while remaining anonymous. So I begin with something about my background: I am 33-years old. I grew up in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, went only to public schools, and then onto the Ivy League, one of the big three. From there, I went on to another of the big three for a PhD in the humanities. Just as my dissertation research was getting underway, September 11th happened, throwing everything into doubt. Why did I deserve this luxury of studying an obscure topic with no immediate relevance when others do the tough stuff of saving lives and fighting wars (and making money for their family and for others)? Teaching was always the saving grace, but it was so many years off, and now, as I will detail later, is still out of reach.
I went to Europe on a prestigious fellowship funding my dissertation research, and as I had burned out with September 11th, I had fun and I met my husband. Our connection was immediate. We had found each other. We married and started our family. Our daughter was born in 2003. Then we moved to the States in 2006. I finished my dissertation, taught for one year, and now work in my field, but not in a teaching or research position. As my daughter approached five and I approached my mid-30s, it was my upper limit for baby number two. So, just before I started my new job, we conceived the baby with which I am now pregnant. And when the baby comes, I will leave this new job, first to care for the baby and then to return to research and teaching.
Tags: children, dissertation, ivy league, mother
