Bec, upon putting a receipt in Bryan’s drawer: “Um, Bry, is this a list of stupid things I’ve said?”
Bry: “Yes, it’s for my website, ‘Shit My Wife Says.'”
Archive for the ‘Rebecca’ Category
13 Dec
Owen fix
Owen loves seeing himself in the camera on my phone. Never to early for a selfie, I suppose.
16 Nov
Wishes
Bryan: “What is that?”
Bec: “It’s a wishbone.”
Bryan: “Why did you glitter it?”
Bec: “It’s like you don’t even know me.”
10 Oct
A number of balls in the air
I spent the first part of this week on the east coast, holding alumni events in New York and Washington DC. I always enjoy the opportunity to travel, especially to big cities. The entire trip is energizing, and I love connecting with happy alumni (and potential donors). I also appreciate a quiet hotel room, and the chance for drinks with friends who are no longer close by.
My trip was nearly flawless from a travel standpoint and even included an Amtrak journey between the cities (a first for me). The best part, though, was an unexpected early flight home, which allowed me to catch Ava Kate’s after school volleyball game. I picked up the littles (and Aunt Katie and Uncle Tom), and made it just in time to see Ava serve.
28 Sep
Boston roundup
Last Saturday, Bryan and I arrived in Boston. For the first time in many trips to Massachusetts, Katie didn’t meet us at the airport. We missed her, but we appreciated the cab ride through the city to our hotel—it’s important to be reminded of your mortality every now and then.
We stayed at Bryan’s conference hotel in South Boston, but spent most of our time up and down the Red Line. Our first top was Cambridge, were we revisited a pub Katie introduced me to years ago. We stepped in to find it filled with Husker fans, and we had a great time chatting with other Nebraska alumni during the game.
Towards the end of the night, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to find our friend Steve. He and Bryan were in the same lab in grad school, and Steve’s now a professor at Tufts. We toured his lab and had a lovely dinner at a Lebanese cafe in the area.
(I have to apologize for the photo quality throughout this post—I’m using a very old (vintage!) iPhone for a while.)
The next day, we walked most of the Freedom Trail, stopping along the way for a few “restoratives.”
We had dinner at another favorite of Katie’s—the Barking Crab. I love this restaurant. We sat at a picnic tables and drank wine from plastic cups, taking in the incredible view of the city and river.
Then, we met up with two friends from Lawrence—Alex and Laura, who just started post docs in Boston.
The next few days brought a bit of extra sleep, some remote work, and of course, a conference presentation for Bryan.
I was able to sit in on his presentation—while I can’t say I really understood a whole lot of it, I can tell you he was handsome and charming.
By Wednesday, I was so ready to be home, I didn’t even hassle Bryan (much) when he had me at the airport and through security a full three hours before our flight. We followed the sunset west, home to three sleeping kiddos and an equally exhausted Katie and Tom.
26 Sep
Home again
Me, on the way home from a five day trip to Boston: “Well, back to reality…”
Bryan, rapping an Eminem song in response: “Snap back to reality, oh there goes gravity. Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked. He’s so mad, but he won’t give up that easy, no. He won’t have it, he knows his whole back’s to these ropes. It don’t matter, he’s dope.”
Me: “Good talk, Bry. Thanks.”
16 Aug
Full Disclosure
My week—at least according to Facebook—looked pretty good. Happy, mostly-clean children smiling on a front porch, then walking up a hill to celebrate their first day of school. A fun and engaging TV trivia taping with awesome colleagues. Comments that indicate I had ample time to watch fascinating videos and read a few articles.
In the interest of full disclosure, though, I offer a list of happenings that did not appear on my sanitized social media channel:
- A string of days in which ALL THE THINGS went wrong at work. Deadlines were missed, balls were dropped, bad decisions were made.
- Tears. A lot, actually—some hidden as I left my eight-year-old in a new classroom for, what–the third or fourth time? Some in frustration over work and relationships. Some as I wished earnestly for 10 minutes to shower without being asked a single question.
- An actual tantrum—mine, sadly—in which I refused to make dinner one night. I did do the laundry later—though only with barely contained fury.
- Unkind words to my sweet husband, and to my daughters.
- Too many glasses of wine.
- Frustration with a baby who isn’t sleeping, and shame because I know it’s due to illness.
- Endless worry about time spent at home rather than at work.
- Endless worry about time spent at work rather than at home.
- Bedtimes that were probably earlier than they needed to be.
- Guilt. So much guilt. Over everything from poorly-managed relationships, to phone calls I should have made but didn’t, to the thank you notes I STILL haven’t written.
- 19 changes of clothes—only five of which I actually wore, and a promise yet again to lose 20 pounds.
- A slice of pizza anyway.
I’ll note that, thankfully, a week like this is the exception and not the rule, but it feels disingenuous to let it go by without a bit of honesty. Social media makes it all to easy to create a facade that does no favors for women, for wives, for moms. Days can be filled with more blessings than you can count, but they can be brutal and cold.
So, with this declaration, I offer a glimpse into what is real, and—more importantly—a promise to myself and those I love to try and do better come Monday.
– Rebecca
PS – Those cupcakes? They were from a box.
20 Jul
Kansas bound
After a great week with the Smith family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, we are heading east on I-70 today–only 350 miles left to reach home. I’m looking forward to sharing photos and stories from the reunion. More soon!
12 Jul
(Not exactly) a piece of cake
I offered to make Katie’s wedding cake, assuming somehow that years of cupcake baking had prepared me for what is actually a rather monumental task. After a few months of testing recipes, I decided to use this very moist yet airy vanilla iteration. In a dozen trial runs (including four for a practice cake), I found Madagascar vanilla played better than Mexican, and that bake-even strips are miraculous.
My main concern was icing, knowing that I lacked the truly professional skill needed to create a picture-perfect cake. Thankfully, though, Katie liked this very easy rose treatment, and the swiss meringue buttercream stood up beautifully in the warm air.
My step dad made the cake base, and my mom tailored the ribbon. I used pearl pins to adhere the tiny twine bows, then the groom and my father-in-law helped me transport the cake from the house to the tent via golf cart. I was more nervous during those five minutes than I was throughout my own wedding. The bride and groom cut the cake with Gramma’s cake knife, and there was just enough for the entire party.
Tom and Katie’s cake top is tucked away in my freezer, awaiting their first anniversary.
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