So, I am on the advisory board of the Physics Department at my Alma Mater, and we had our semi-annual meeting on Saturday. I am really so glad to be involved with this, for so many reasons, not limited to the following:
1. I generally do not like driving. But I can't tell you how much I enjoyed driving 45 minutes in a car, each way, by myself, listening to my music. Alone time is scarce in my life. And you can only listen to the ABC Song and Waltzing Matilda so many times before you start to go just a little bit crazy.
2. It is nice to go back to the campus and see how much has changed. And how much stayed the same. (Though, the realization that people in the dining hall weren't mistaking me for a student wasn't so nice.)
3. Though I do have a lot of control in and input into my daily life, it is nice to feel like what I have to say is valuable on a professional level. I felt like a grown-up in a room of grown-ups. We had intellectual conversations that didn't require interpreting toddler-speak, one word answers, or sign language. And even though I stand in front of a classroom full of people on a daily basis, when I spoke on Saturday I was actually listened to by everyone in the room. I didn't have to repeat myself thirty times. I didn't get interrupted. I was asked questions; not "What's for dinner?" or "What is the homework tonight?" (even though it is written on the board), but about how I thought various things could be improved. And my suggestions might actually affect change.
The bottom line is this: I got to have the experience of moving out of my typical mom/wife/teacher role and spread my wings a little bit. It felt great. It felt great to be appreciated in a way not typical of my daily life, and to be told as much. And that whole notion that by even the smallest things, we can make a difference in the world? Yeah, a little reaffirmation from a different point of view is pretty awesome.
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