After Heidi’s visit we had a flurry of activity in our house.
My parents came to stay with us for a bit, fully expecting me to largely ignore them so that I can keep up with my students, and seemingly okay with that as long as they got to spend time with their grandchildren. While they were here we made a few expeditions into Lexington, hit the playground, and took walks. Sydney’s parents stopped in for a few days shortly after that, and they, too, folded into our busy school/work life for a bit. Both sets of grandparents seemed keen to discover grocery stores during their visit, as if anxious to see that we really do have food down here!
In-between these visits from family, we had four separate groups over for dinner. It’s nice to be back in hosting mode again, and to get to know some of the people with whom we work and go to church. The dinners worked reasonably well: Sydney was at the helm for much of the cooking, and my housecleaning standards have apparently dropped to manageable levels as I stay occupied keeping the kids under control. It also helps that all of our company was very kid-tolerant. Not all people want to spend an evening listening to long, wandering stories told by toddlers and preschoolers, or building Lego structures.
We’re heading into different kinds of busy as we come to the last weeks of the semester. We’re both looking forward to a long Christmas break, but we will need to use that time to gear up for changes this spring: I will have new classes to teach here, and Sydney will be spending half of each week this spring in Columbus, as a visiting professor at the Ohio State University. We’re really excited for both the teaching and the research opportunities he’ll have there, if a bit nervous to see how the family/work juggle will go. Thankfully, things here will remain quite stable. My husband may be three hours away for a few days each week, but it gives me great peace of mind to know that my children are only just down the street from me when I’m teaching!
Erin
Alan Schmierer