self portrait thursday: einstein ... not

self portrait thursday: einstein ... not, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

this isn't the Higgs Boson post which I really must get around to writing soon

Much as I would like to get back into my old academic life, this is probably as close as I'll get . And a whiteboard covered in symbols is a pretty tenuous link.

Tomorrow is my last day teaching a jewelry design summer camp at Place des Arts. Today was chainmaille day, and as usual my wonderful group of teens completely bowled me over with their enthusiasm and ability.

Chainmaille, the ancient art of weaving together tiny metal rings into arrow-proof undergarments, is a fiddly technique. Fingers become thumbs and both seem the size (and usefulness) of bananas.

But my class of ten managed to decipher the 3D-into-2D whiteboard diagrams as I attempted to explain orbital weave to them. It's a fairly straightforward beginner weave but with a tricky step in the middle, and looks great as a simple bracelet.

As for the previous academic-life-of-me? that was before-baby (BB), when I could plunge headlong in 110%. It was hard work, fun and exhilarating but not something I contemplate for my near future. My BB self could not imagine a life without career until faced with the Wee Guy in the flesh. Quite simply, my life changed.

Although I recognise I personally need alternate interests to fuel me through parenting, the total immersion career isn't something I want in addition to motherhood. It's very easy to label this a failure, a waste of education, a slap in the face to all the feminists who struggled before me to win parity, career choice and more, but my choice is personal and I'm lucky to be able to make it.