Last week was rough. As I was hurriedly getting ready for a day of never-ending grading, search committee meetings and reference letter writing, I heard a loud “MOMMY!” from my oldest child’s bathroom. I turned the corner, just in time to see her start throwing up into the toilet. On the one hand, it was a joyous moment because she made it to the toilet (hooray!). On the other hand, it was exactly the type of obstacle that I felt like I couldn’t possibly navigate around this busy time of semester. I freaked out, but then quickly got to strategizing for the day. It worked out (it always seems to, right?), but it left me thinking about how much there is for faculty mamas to do this time of year.
All moms are amazing, and I don’t believe in contests about who works the hardest. This post is just a shout-out to all my fellow faculty mamas so we can take a second to congratulate each other for all we’ve done.
As you’ll see, the rubric below gives you a lot of credit, because you deserve it! Feel free to add a comment with anything else you’ve done this late Fall. You rock, #facultymama!
Grading Rubric:
Oops, totally forgot to do this – 5 points
Pretty sure I’ll get to it at the last minute; still hopeful – 5 points
Miraculously, this is done – 5 points
End-of-Semester Objectives:
a) Letters of reference (it’s part of my job, but…)
b) Gifts for school teachers (hope I don’t repeat what I gave them when they had my other child)
c) Grading — papers (why did I assign papers?!)
d) Grading — exams (those 2 hours of giving the exam were glorious. Next year I’ll use multiple choice)
e) Grading — presentations (also nice to watch them, but now I have to grade them)
f) Getting out all the cold weather gear for the kids (snow pants, Cuddle Duds, gloves, winter boots, scarves)
g) Going out and buying missing cold weather gear
h) Review admission files for Spring (it seems impossible to think about next Fall already…)
i) Gifts for daycare teachers (hope I don ‘t repeat what I gave them when they had my other child)
j) Interview faculty candidates (gotta get them in before the break)
k) Gifts for family (hope I don’t repeat what I gave them last year)
l) Enter data for faculty activities report (time to face the harsh truth)
m) Gift for my partner (who is that again?)
n) Stay home with sick child (iPad wins Noble Prize in Caregiving)
o) Overdose on zinc and vitamins to avoid getting sick (probably should also work on getting more sleep)
p) Talk about needing more sleep, but stay up too late grading (and on the internet)
q) Submit article/chapter/conference abstract (cope with insecurities about not doing enough)
r) End-of-semester faculty meeting (no comment)
s) End-of-semester college meeting (no comment)
t) Meet with students to talk about last-minute efforts to increase grade (wha…?!)
u) Start planning for hosting a holiday event (I actually like doing this but of course won’t have time)
v) Plan for data collection in Spring (it seems so far away but I know it’ll be here soon)
w) Talk to my partner periodically (who is that again?)
x) Stay on top of kids’ homework, library book returns, school lunch account, donations for class parties (this could be a full-time job!)
y) Begin thinking about my syllabi for Spring (HA!)
z) WHAT ELSE??
Post a comment so we can see what else you’ve accomplished, faculty mama!
