June Redemption

Okay, June, you made up for the May showers.  Who doesn't love the end of the school year (outdoor concert), beach trips with family (complete with a zoo trip and dolphin-watching tour), celebrating Father's Day with a climb, sailing Lasers (not shown), finally graduating in a personalized ceremony with a room full of some of your favorite people, and Hershey Park?  

 

Happy Half Birthday, Alma

 

Alma is a fun kid.  We all knew this but what makes her especially fun is that she is always up for almost anything.  She is a roll-with-the-changes, "it's okay," and look on the bright side type of person.  I love that when the washer breaks (wait, I don't love when the washer breaks ...), she is game for going to the laundromat to learn about how that works and sit in the trunk of the car with me while we wait for our clothes.  She is always anxious to support friends -- wanting to go to her friend Taylor's musicals, loving watching her cousins play sports, and was always cheering me on as I made my way through my doctoral program.

I love her adventurous, try-anything spirit and cannot wait to see the trouble ... I mean "adventures" we get into in the coming years.  Happy half birthday, Alma dear.

May Happenings

Oh, May 2022.  What a month you have been.  This first picture of how James fell asleep -- upside down with a mask on -- sums it up well.  

Highlights of the month:

1. Negative: Joshua and I took turns getting and recovering from COVID. Positive: The children enjoyed 20 days of single-parenting, which they feel has some benefits.

2. Negative: Our pipes leaked and/or broke throughout the house (crawl space and the only shower in the house). Positive: So much has been replaced, thus avoiding other problems which were on the horizon.

3. Negative: Our washing machine broke and the prices for new ones are bonkers.  Positive: Both children learned about the wonderful world of laundromats, which are actually not as bad as I remember them.

The month wasn't all bad -- it was just sprinkled with challenges. There was also a lot of time outside (thank goodness for my lovely hammock spot, the slip-and-slide, archery, and the trampoline) and inside (puzzles, board games, getting our nails done, etc.).  

Unfortunately, with getting COVID, I missed graduation.  I wasn’t especially looking forward to the attention of graduation, so I was a little glad for the “bad timing” of getting sick.  Happily, we scheduled a private hooding ceremony for later in June, which should be nice.

Spring - Birth - Easter - Day

It was so great to take some time away from work, school, and our regular schedule to enjoy time together with the Fujimotos (thanks, family!), the NJ Shore (thanks, B&B!), and Easter weekend with my parents (thanks, Mom and Dad!).  I'm so grateful for a giant squid kite (thanks, Kate!), an empty skatepark for scooter and family antics, and a delicious Easter dinner (thanks, Joshua and Alma!).

Dr. Chisholm

 

I'm done! After five years, I've completed my doctoral hobby. I now have an Ed.D., which is a doctorate in Education. 

I'm proud of my family for getting through this process together. I am so grateful to have the love, support, and wonderfully distracting energy that came from being a wife/mother and completing a graduate degree. While I enjoyed the academics -- courses about interesting topics, reading fascinating research, and writing papers that eventually turned into grants -- I realize it was challenging for Joshua and the kids at times. I'm a lucky gal to have them in my corner.

My defense day was great:  I defended my dissertation in the morning online via Zoom with just my three committee members, opened a box of joy from Joshua and the kids (streamers, balloons, candy, and my new favorite mug), went to my afternoon work meetings, went home to several bouquets of flowers from family supporters, had a scooter-run with James, and then enjoyed a typical evening of dinner with my lovely family. While it would have been fun to defend in public and with my family present, it was much less pressure to do it privately and as just another component of my day. Joshua and the kids made it feel special. James did ask, "Why are so many people sending flowers? Is this a big deal?" When I told him it was a five-year process, he was surprised that I had been doing this for half his life. To him, this is just what his mother does, which I thought was pretty neat. 

Here is a glimpse into how I wrote some of my doctoral class papers or dissertation chapters.  I will always remember how James was beginning to read when I began my doctoral studies; he would sit with me and "read" my papers by saying the words he could read as I typed.  It sounds like this: "will was to it and ...." Not distracting at all -- ha!  I've also been working from a completely messy desk in our bedroom (since the pandemic began) and distracting myself during stressful times by painting walls.  

Oddly enough, I feel slightly sad to have this chapter in my life done. I really enjoyed being a student. Luckily, as a grant writer, I basically write papers for a living (or encourage others through the writing process might be a more accurate description of my work). Also, with a degree, I can continue to research and publish. Since I began my undergrad program in 1997, my master's in 2007, and my doctorate in 2017, I'll have to figure out the next degree to begin in 2027 ... just five years away. Maybe a captain's license? Maybe I'll consider going for a Ph.D. when the children are older (don't tell Josh!).  

One last thought: I didn't really consider that my name would change. Classmates have always told me how excited they would be to become "Doctor Whatever," and I would demur because that wasn't why I was completing the degree. Now that I'm here (on the other side of the process), I still cannot relate. It feels weird to me ... maybe weird because I didn't think about it much, and now it's "sprung" upon me. I don't think I'll use it often, so it isn't a big deal. Just a funny reflection that I want to remember.

I look forward to continuing the celebration when I am hooded at graduation next month.

Middle School Art Show

 

Alma had two pieces in the middle school art show.  Can you guess which is her self-portrait?  And the banner is the one with the cat reaching out for the snowflake.  

Below, you can see Alma's creativity in our house -- she always saw this interesting angle of our walls as a face so she added an eye that she painted.  How clever!

Lego Discovery Center

 James had a day off from school (parent-teacher conferences) so we went on an adventure to the Lego Discovery Center.  While geared towards younger children, we had fun building cars, watching a 4-D movie (3-D plus wind/rainy, which was honestly just annoying to both of us -- ha!), and going out for fries and milkshakes.  I loved having some time with just James.

Pi Day

 

James sharing 45 digits of Pi the day before Pi Day (3/14/2022), which I think is very impressive. He likes to note that he added an additional 10-15 digits after this was filmed.  The best part of this story is that James came home from school that day more excited that he helped his friend practice and get up to nearly 130 digits of Pi.