Lately, I have been very worried about my youngest daughter. She is struggling with some important life decisions, and she has pulled away from us and becoming more dependent on her girlfriends. This has stressed her out and caused her to be a bit grumpy once in a while at home. In fact, it became downright difficult to live with her for a couple of days. This is a problem because I worry a great deal about her welfare. So much worry prevents me from the heavy thinking required in doctoral work.
I spend a lot of time being a graduate student. I spend hours studying and writing. I spend even more time reading and reading. Make no mistake: a doctoral program requires a total commitment and a lot of time. This is especially true the latter part of a doctoral program. During the first part of the program, I could get away with going to school part time and doing a little research. Now that I am ramping up to comprehensive exams during Spring semester 2012, I need to spend my summer studying and working to get a couple of papers published.
I have all these student responsibilities while I must also spend time raising my family and helping my kids to navigate the “adventure” of growing up. In a blog post on May 9, 2009, I told you all that I am not a super mom. That is still the case. I am doing the best I can, but that does not mean I am awesome as a mother. I just pray that I can do the best possible for my kids and that they turn out happy and healthy.
