work and family

3 weeks ago I learned that the pulmonary technician helping me conduct my dissertation research was taking up Pitt's early retirement offer and would be leaving the last day of June (tomorrow). I suffered a minor stroke (surely just a TIA, likely not in any essential brain region, probably just the frontal lobe and who would really notice then?). Suddenly I was faced with finishing piloting the methods, recruiting and running the study on 24 subjects in less than 21 days.  Over the ensuing 3 weeks (actually, 12 days, but who's counting? Me. that's who. I'm counting), I screened 56 people to find 24 who met the requirements and time constraints*, and ran all of the subjects through the protocol. I'm patting myself on the back right now (actually, I'm drinking a Southern Tier, enjoying the air conditioning, and writing this blog- but the same thing, right?).  My grant from the NIH kicks in next week so I'm officially off duty as lab rat to my advisor, and plan on working about 3/4 time and spending many more hours with Mathilda.
These past 3 weeks were a ridiculous image of working motherdom (made even more so by the fact that I'm reading the book I don't know how she does it). On the bus by 645am which meant I would wake Tilly just to kiss her goodbye (and hear her aching cry of "mama" as she reached out for me as I walked down the front steps), just to come home in time to sing her to sleep at night. Not how I would want to live every week, but to now be out on the other side, looking at all of my dissertation data collected and a great potential of an early graduation- it just might have been worth it.
Amidst the chaos, we still managed to have some good family times...

The WYEP Summer music festival....

sharing the sand with Daddy, one handful at a time

walking home

love the ergo

concerned about the wind in her hair

date night! We went for ice cream and enjoyed in the front seat of the car while she passed out napped in the back

too much summer partying

watching football (soccer) with Daddy on his birthday

jumping on the bed!

 And of course, spending lots of time at the farmhouse park

she'd drink from the fountain all day if we let her

At this rate, you might all have to call me doctor come Christmas. And my darling daughter will be able to say it (such a talker!) and won't remember a few weeks when Mama was a photo on the fridge and Daddy did all the heavy lifting. And now I just jinxed it. Thanks a lot blogger.

* for the record, voluntary research subjects can be quite interesting. I met a massage therapist, a fullbright scholar, a lesbian with bad personal hygiene who suggested a romp in the closet-turned-office after the experiment concluded.