Grow The !@#$ Up

Remember C of food stamps and spousal PhD on Lost Atlantis? Anyhow. I was talking to C. And her spouse, who has screaming-heebie-jeebie panic attacks over writing papers (publish or perish? iffy question!), predictably did not finish a single blessed one of his term papers. From last May.

They are still not done.

Regarding one, the professor said "Oh, just turn it in before the end of the year." So C said to me, "I almost want to ask the professor to set a deadline before Christmas! Or he'll be working on the paper our whole vacation!" I made a sympathetic MRRRR noise. And I thought, "There is something wrong here."

See, normal humans would, oh, say to the spouse, "I need you to finish your work before X date, so that Y can happen." And normal, responsible, adult spouses would, given six months and a stay-at-home wife and virtually no other responsibilities, be able to finish 3 papers. And normal human people who have been married to each other for seven years should, perhaps, have worked this out already. However, under none of these circumstances is it reasonable or professional to ask one's spouse's professor to step in.

In fact, this spouse needs to grow up. Also, in fact, I think that sacrificing one's family's well-being, health, and financial stability to pursue a useless PhD in the likely-vain hope that a tenured faculty job somewhere pleasant will result... is selfish, stupid, and childish. And either terminally optimistic, or something a great deal less flattering.

Grow up, honey. Grow up.

Addendum: Antidepressants and Pregnancy

Stopping your drugs 2 weeks before the due date probably doesn't make any difference.

Against Single Parenting

-that is, for myself. The spousal unit is off at a conference in somewhere that thinks it's the center of the world. All week. Ironically, he didn't even want to go.

Wow, is this easier with more than one adult around.

Bet You Didn't Know...

... that a tricycle, being caught on one's garage door, will cause catastrophic failure!

... that to put the door back in, you have to take out all the roller holders.

... that you probably have to take it apart too.

... that garage doors weigh A TON.