Untitled.: 2009 here we are

Happy New Year!
Hard to believe it's another year. Here is a picture from Sam way back in the year 2008, wearing a StarWars shirt from his Aunt Meg, sized 18 or 24 months. To be fair, the shirt is a little loose and it's sort of oddly shaped, but still, our boy is pretty big. In this image, he's playing in a walker that his Grandpa Erlewine got him. Walkers are controversial but my dad remembers his kids really getting a lot out of them and my house is laid out perfectly for such a thing. Sam is too little and his feet don't touch the ground, but he actually loves being in there and exploring the toys from this vertical position. So even as a stationary play place, this walker is cool, and I think he'll be pretty thrilled when he gets to move around a bit.

New Years Eve was spent at our good friend Juan's. Colombian New Year traditions are way more fun than the US ones, so we intended to observe some of them. A few years ago we spent New Years with our other Colombian friend Esteban and we did this tradition where you pack a bag and walk around the block, pretending you are going on a trip you hope to take during the upcoming year. The act is supposed to bring you good luck with traveling in the new year -- and that year I did do a lot of traveling! This year was too cold to take Sam out for a midnight walk, but we did do the tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight, making a wish for the new year as you eat each grape.

Sam and Mom updates!
Sam seems to be healed from his surgery! Way to go Sam!

I think that in the past month I've really become more comfortable as a mom, and that feels great. I don't spend incessant hours reading about how Sam should be developing, or what I should be doing to be the perfect mother. I still do some research, of course, but not to the degree that I did. I'm much more comfortable watching my son develop at the pace that he develops and I take my parenting choices in stride. The truth is, this family stuff is all about survival, and you do what works best for you and yours. And I'm ok with that. I'm ok with the fact that my son sleeps some of every night in bed with us and I'm ok that sometimes he goes to sleep with a few tears and sometimes he doesn't, and sometimes I can't stand to let him cry so he stays up a little late. We have games we play and songs we sing.

Sam can sit up unassisted for very brief moments, and he's getting stronger all the time. Rolling over remains an elusive act, but he certainly can do it and gets all rolly and twisty both in your lap and laying on tummy or back. He reaches and grabs like crazy, loves shaking rattles and loves crinkly toys. He likes to read books with me and he loves to watch his dad dance. He and I both love wrestling together -- he laughs when I blow raspberries on the underside of his chin and his rarely accessible neck and he laughs when I nibble his ribs. He is often soothed by the Growing Pains theme song, and I have a series of lullabies that still do the trick. I can't believe he is almost six months old.

Employment on the Horizon!
So as I mentioned, I have an on-campus interview for the professor job. Here is a little more detailed info... For those of you not accustomed to academia, this interview is likely to last more than a day, meeting with the search committee, a dean, maybe a provost, a group of students, I will have to teach a class, and wine and dine -- TOTALLY intimidating. I have illicited some suggestions from folks who have witnessed and/or participated in the process and a HUGE THANK YOU to you guys. Anyone else reading this who has suggestions please send them on. The interview will take place one of the last two weeks of January. I will be one of three candidates who have an interview at this level.

The position is Assistant Professor, tenure track. It is based in Indianapolis, so Aaron and I took a trip to Indy the other day to get a better feel for the city. The campus is very nice and the school is very small. I really am excited about the possibility of the job. We weren't too enthused about Indianapolis though. I accidentally had us driving through some very questionable areas of the city, and we lost a hub cap too. Sigh. Well first things first, I still need to make it through the interview. The position would begin in the fall -- terrific timing. Sam would already be one year old!!

Other good job news is that I have been offered a position at Purdue for this term -- the term beginning in just two weeks! It is teaching a sculpture class and working as coordinator for the design foundations courses. Great opportunity, but a lot of stress to prep for these in such little time. It's a good transition back to work though -- I won't have to be away from home for long stretches of time and we should be able to pay our bills, so that's good. Purdue has also offered me a course for the summer, so it looks like I will at least have a pay check through August. This type of adjunct lecturer work is never reliable and not paid real well, but it offers lots of home time and is sort of ideal for me in my current situation so I'm feeling really good about it.

I don't expect to hear from the library until next week at the earliest, but I suppose at this point even if they offer the job I cannot accept it. If they invite me for an on-campus interview, I will do the interview though.

Well, as usual, this post is longer than I had hoped it would be. Here are a few pics from recent holiday fun.