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Dear Mom,
Congratulations on your retirement! I have the special privilege of being one of truly 2 people who can reflect on your career from the perspective of being your daughter. I enjoy thinking back on that young twenty-something who showed up to graduate school in new Haven in the late 60s ready for lab work even if she had to wear a skirt. Yale had not yet admitted women undergraduates. That spunky blonde would meet her future husband at Yale and then twenty-something years later both of her daughters would attend Yale as undergraduates. Before I could follow in your footsteps to Yale, I suppose there were bound to be some typical teenager moments., For some reason I recall a particular tote bag that you were quite fond of. I suppose it was just the right size, maybe had good pockets. It was from a herpes virus meeting. Oh, how I wished you would not take that bag anywhere where my friends might see those words right there on the outside of the bag…herpes virus. The social perils of being the daughter of a scientist I guess. Your transition from CU to Regis happened while I was finishing high school. I remember being incredibly impressed by how quickly you were devoted to your undergraduate students. You have continued to have a passion for teaching that I have marveled at all these years. There have been whiney pre-meds, helicopter parents and university politics but you have stuck by your students and found joy in their successes. People say we all become our mothers just a bit at least. Lucky me. Your ability to find balance in life is awesome. You were doing it even before working moms were obsessed with finding balance. You just did it. You made dinner for us after a long day in the lab. You went off to Gordon conferences but still found time to sew Halloween costumes. Grandmother, puppy trainer, gardener, house painter, interior designer, curtain-maker, event planner, chef, travel agent, homework helper, and all those other titles that don’t make it on your CV deserve mention too. Luckily you aren’t retiring from those. Thank you for showing me that there are ways to find balance between the personal and the professional. I love the way your face lights up the same talking either the latest Downton Abbey episode or the latest interesting cover article in Science. I love that you can have a deep discussion about academia while simultaneously making jam. Thanks for teaching me what PCR is and teaching me how to sew. Congratulations on this milestone. I look forward to many more adventures involving (in no particular order): corgis, grandchildren, the mountains, and hopefully Hawaii! Love, Jenny |