In about three weeks, my summer at home with Bear ends. I begin teaching again, and I also start the arduous task of going on the job market and revising a chapter to publish as an article. I will be on campus 4 days a week, as I am teaching 3 classes in 3 different departments. I will have to pump and store breast milk, and I will be away from Bear for at least 3 hours a day 3 days a week and 8 hours a day one day a week. I will begin each day by dropping Wild Man off at school and follow most days with office hours and then teaching. In the evenings I will have to squeeze in time with the boys along with grading and class prep and preparing job letters and other materials.
C, on the other hand, will be staying home with Bear. While he has a list of work related things he wants to accomplish while on parental leave, he will focus primarily on childcare and the house. He will be a stay-at-home-dad, at least until January. If he doesn't get anything work related accomplished, that's ok. I've never wanted to be a SAHM, but I'm more than a little jealous of the time he will get to devote to Bear. The fall semester is going to be much harder than I anticipated.
2 comments:
Wow, you are brave to be doing that and I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm just really really sad that I won't be here in December to meet you for the first time when you come to the MLA. :-(
[beware -- tons of parenthetical remarks below ;-) ]
Apart from the dissertation work (courtesy of my parents' help) and two years as an instructor (last semester merely a teaching assistant) after Kelvin was born (right in the middle of the semester, you may recall), I've been a SAHM and I don't regret it. I'm glad that C is able to be the caregiver this semester, though, I'm sure it will be wonderful for your family.
Now that I'll be home/cyberschooling the boys I'm a bit scared, though. I often wish I could be working, but then I think again and I guess I'm fine with my choices. Which will probably cost me an academic career. I don't really worry about that, though. The best of luck in your job search. Would you guys move if you got a job?
Moving is always a possibility for us, Lilian. C and I have discussed this endlessly and we have an ideal situation in mind as well as one that we could make work. Ideally, we'll both be able to find jobs at a university in the States closer to our families, especially as my parents and his mom are aging. But we'd be happy to stay in CU Land provided that CU offers me a tenure track job.
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