I started school this week. Again. I am indeed the perpetual student, as every few years I seem to be starting a new degree. This time, however, I am starting a new degree with a toddler in tow. And not just any degree either. A Ph.D. A doctorate. A certified path towards insanity.Of course, many of you think I’m crazy already. Admittedly, those embarking upon the masochistic road to a Ph.D. are usually somewhat nuts. But as a woman nearing thirty with a one-year-old in tow, I am not your typical doctoral student.
My “uniqueness,” shall we say, was made especially apparent when I walked into my economics class on Friday. You see, I’ve been required to take a few additional undergraduate credits, because apparently I did not take enough classes when I was actually in undergrad. So I enrolled in an interesting looking third year economics class.
I am definitely the oldest student there. By far.
When we were discussing labour and childcare costs, I made the mistake of mentioning that I had a husband and baby myself. I heard astonished whispers from the young men beside me:
“Did she say she has a baby? Or that she wants a baby?”
“No, she said she has a baby.”
“Whoa.”
Whoa, indeed. Secretly I hoped that the astonishment was due to the fact that I looked so young and fit and hip that I couldn’t possibly have a baby. But I knew that wasn’t it. They were wondering why on earth I, an Older Woman with a Baby, was in class with them and their young, fit, and hip twenty-one-year-old friends.
The next day I went to a neighbouring university to pick up a book, and out of necessity I brought my son along. The gapes of astonishment and confused stares made me think that the students had never seen a baby before. But they had just never seen a baby on campus before, especially in the library. (Oh lighten up, it was only for a minute, and he didn’t make a peep.)
Yesterday, I went to class, did some research, applied for funding, had a meeting with our school’s director, hit the gym, and then picked up my son and went to Tubes and Jujubes, where I raced around like a goof yelling things like: “Throw the balls! Press the button! Let’s go down the slide! Now jump jump jump! Wheeeee!”
Economics in the morning and playdates in the afternoon. This is my new life.
So far, I like it.
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