When I was pregnant with my daughter and unsure what was going to happen to my academic career, a woman I admire, a full-time mom/scientist, told me that she thought of her life in terms of five-year blocks. These blocks corresponded loosely with her children’s developmental stages, and with each subsequent phase she was able to take on different projects or increase the amount of time she devoted to her own interests.
Liz Stockwell
Liz Stockwell has a PhD in zoology from the University of Washington and lives in Burnaby, British Colombia. After experiencing the hectic pace of combined teaching, parenting, and academic life, she decided to be home with her two young children full-time. In her off-hours, she squeezes in writing projects (occasionally!) and enjoys exploring the forest and seashore with her family.
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January 20, 2010
On our recent New Year’s trip to Friday Harbor, Washington, my eight-year old had the chance to reconnect with one of his buddies, a boy his age he’s known and played with since they were toddlers. A group of us went for a long walk in the woods, and the boys tagged along. The boys were shy together at first, but they soon adjusted to their own pace on the hike, falling behind to splash in puddles and pick up sticks.
January 6, 2010
My family spent New Year’s Eve and the following weekend at one of our favorite places in the world, Friday Harbor Labs, on San Juan Island, off the Washington coast. (Mama PhD blogging colleague Dana Campbell and I have frequently written about Friday Harbor Labs and its adjoining retreat for scholars, the Whitely Center.) My son told all his friends “we’re going to a 3-day party!” Indeed it was a party to remember, with invitees from all over the world, to celebrate my husband’s PhD advisor’s retirement.
December 9, 2009
My son and I arrived ten minutes before the official vaccination clinic start time, but already the line-up for H1N1 vaccine snaked out the cafeteria doors and down the path into the cold rain outside. Although the clinic was held at a university dining hall, it was open to any provincial resident, and over a hundred university staff, faculty, students, neighbors, and their kids were queued up.
November 24, 2009
We were all up before the sun this past Saturday morning. My eight-year-old son was practically bouncing off the walls with nervous energy from the moment he was out of bed. We left the house at 8AM for a regional karate tournament in which my son would be competing. Although my husband and I tried to hide it, we were pretty nervous on the 45-minute drive to the suburban high school gym we’d only seen on Google map satellite views.
November 4, 2009
One recent morning while I was getting dressed, my four-year-old daughter had some advice for me: “Mama, I want you to eat and eat. I want you to always eat lots of healthy food because then you won’t get skinny”. Where was this conversation going? Was this about body image? I have a good appetite most of the time, I’m not particularly thin, and my weight hasn’t changed much recently, so I didn’t think I’d given her any cause for concern. (Of course I immediately thought her comment had to do with something about my body—talk about body image issues!).
October 21, 2009
We celebrated Thanksgiving here in Canada not long ago, and I spent the holiday weekend in deep contemplation and reflection about all I have and where my life has brought me. Aside from the obvious things for which I feel thankful — health (a big one this year), family, home, and food on the table — I feel particularly grateful for the invaluable time I can spend with my children in their young years.
September 30, 2009
A radio interview I heard yesterday completely derailed the blog theme I’d planned for this week (I’ll have to save the sex topic for next time). Let’s just say I’ve become a little obsessed with obsessiveness since hearing the program. The interview (from CBC radio’s “The Current”) was titled “Obsessive Work” and featured an ornithologist named Glen Chilton who’s just published a book about his 15 year obsession with tracking down every stuffed specimen of the extinct Labrador duck.
September 16, 2009
Health care is on the minds of Canadians these days, just as it is at the forefront of discussions in the United States. However, our fight is by comparison much easier than that which U.S. citizens face. We’re simply trying to keep our existing universal coverage strong and well funded since cuts to health care are the first things politicians go for when there are budget shortfalls. Here in Canada most of my friends and I used to take for granted our universal health coverage, but increasingly with the U.S.
September 2, 2009
Every year at this time I re-evaluate my daily schedule and get ready for the start of the new year. It’s that time when I try to get a head start on anticipated back-to-school dramas by making lists of things to remember to send to school on the first day, waking up earlier in the mornings so that the first week of school preparations won’t be so difficult, and marking the start of after school activities on the calendar so we can get the routine settled for each day.
