My mother's age...
When I had older son, I was a year younger than my mother when she had me. I've been thinking about this a lot lately...and it scares me.
When my mom was this age, she was very petite and slim. I look nothing like my mom. :-) My mom was working on an Associates Degree in accountancy. I have to say that her going to school was a big reason I knew I wanted to go to college. I don't think my sisters remember that so much, which is perhaps why second sister is still working on her BS and third never finished high school. (I'm the only one in my family with BS.) Perhaps they were too young, but I remember spending evenings working on my elementary school work with my mom, who was doing her college school work.
I guess the reason I've been thinking about this is because I really wonder what my mom would have done with her life had she been able to go to college. My grandfather didn't care about her going to college, but he wanted his sons to all go. (My mom was supposed to get a husband, and he was supposed to support her...obviously.)
I wonder if maybe she would have ended up being an astronomer or an astronaut. She told me that she had a scrapbook of every newspaper clipping she could find about anything space-related when she was younger.
Even now, when I go off on my crazy tangents about stuff I'm learning about, she is sometimes the only one who listens. I know that she doesn't understand half of what I'm saying (and in reality, the same happens when she talks to me about accounting stuff she does at work...remember that I got a C in accounting). However, unlike most people, she doesn't blow me off. She asks me questions and seems genuinely interested in learning more about what interests me. She came to all my talks when I would give any type of research presentation as an undergrad, and I am guessing she'll be there next spring for my masters defense.
Sometimes, when we go out stargazing, she likes to come with. At 4 a.m. I like the fact that my mom will get up at 4 a.m. to hang out with me, even knowing that we won't be able to find a good latte at that time of morning.
I wonder if more people had parents like that, would they be encouraged to pursue careers in science, math and engineering? I guess that's also part of the reason why I'm doing what I am. My mom never really got to choose when she was younger, and I feel like, in a way, I'm trying to make up for it. I know that doesn't make sense from a logical standpoint, but emotionally, it does.
When my mom was this age, she was very petite and slim. I look nothing like my mom. :-) My mom was working on an Associates Degree in accountancy. I have to say that her going to school was a big reason I knew I wanted to go to college. I don't think my sisters remember that so much, which is perhaps why second sister is still working on her BS and third never finished high school. (I'm the only one in my family with BS.) Perhaps they were too young, but I remember spending evenings working on my elementary school work with my mom, who was doing her college school work.
I guess the reason I've been thinking about this is because I really wonder what my mom would have done with her life had she been able to go to college. My grandfather didn't care about her going to college, but he wanted his sons to all go. (My mom was supposed to get a husband, and he was supposed to support her...obviously.)
I wonder if maybe she would have ended up being an astronomer or an astronaut. She told me that she had a scrapbook of every newspaper clipping she could find about anything space-related when she was younger.
Even now, when I go off on my crazy tangents about stuff I'm learning about, she is sometimes the only one who listens. I know that she doesn't understand half of what I'm saying (and in reality, the same happens when she talks to me about accounting stuff she does at work...remember that I got a C in accounting). However, unlike most people, she doesn't blow me off. She asks me questions and seems genuinely interested in learning more about what interests me. She came to all my talks when I would give any type of research presentation as an undergrad, and I am guessing she'll be there next spring for my masters defense.
Sometimes, when we go out stargazing, she likes to come with. At 4 a.m. I like the fact that my mom will get up at 4 a.m. to hang out with me, even knowing that we won't be able to find a good latte at that time of morning.
I wonder if more people had parents like that, would they be encouraged to pursue careers in science, math and engineering? I guess that's also part of the reason why I'm doing what I am. My mom never really got to choose when she was younger, and I feel like, in a way, I'm trying to make up for it. I know that doesn't make sense from a logical standpoint, but emotionally, it does.