As a post-doc and a mother of two (2.5 years old and 9
months old), I’m often asked “How do you do it?”
The truthful answer is – barely.
I’m certainly not excelling in any area of my life, whether
as a post-doc, wife, or mother. I’m
really just getting by in each area. On top of that, I have no life. Seriously, if you asked me today what I do
for fun, I would have no idea how to answer you. I used to do lots of things – go out with
friends, go running or hiking, read a book, sew, go shopping, go to the movies,
etc. My weekends are now filled with laundry,
errands, and wiping bums.
I love it.
You might not have expected that, right? How could that be fun? If not fun, it is incredibly fulfilling. I
have a job I love, a supportive husband, two beautiful girls, what more could I
ask for? Ok, maybe more sleep.
10 years ago, when I was struggling with the decision to go
back to school or not, the lingering doubt in my mind was whether there would
ever be a “good” time to have a family and would I be willing to make
sacrifices in order to “have it all”.
Luckily, a good friend and colleague of mine had just finished her
post-doc, was just starting her family, and wished she hadn’t waited, telling
me that grad school was the most flexible time of her life. I took her advice and experiences to heart
and had my first daughter a few months after proposing my thesis research and
my second just one month after defending that research.
In order to make it all work, I need support in every aspect
of my life. I need a husband that is
willing to step in and assume some of my roles/duties when I need to go to work
at midnight for growth curve media collection, and I need a boss that
understands that daycare closes at 5:30 and I need to be out of here in time to
pick up my littles. It’s definitely a
juggling act and one slip could cause everything to crash. I live in a constant state of anxiety and guilt,
feeling that I’m not living up to expectations.
But those expectations are only imposed by me. If I stop to listen to the people around me,
asking how I do it, it’s because we’re succeeding, somehow.
Somehow, my experiments get done.
Somehow, my children are clean, fed, and well behaved.
Somehow, my husband and I have 30 minutes each night to
crash on the couch together and just catch our breath.
I tell myself, over and over, that all things are temporary
and this crazy phase of life will soon pass…, only to be replaced by new kinds
of crazy (think ballet lessons, grant deadlines, etc.). But it’s working, and I have so much to be
proud of. So, while I may not be winning
prestigious awards or getting nominated for Mommy-of-the-Year anytime soon, I
am awarded with happy kids and a husband that love me, and slow-but-steady
progression of research.
Also posted on my nerdy blog at http://postdocexperience.scienceblog.com/2013/01/08/juggling-act/
