Monday, March 7, 2011

Teething, Grading, Conference Paper Writing. . .Long Layers???

I'm having one of those classic moments. I'm so anxious about the conference paper I've got to write and ALL the grading that is piled up (just give it up, English -- it ain't gettin' done), and I've got students emailing about their revisions and everything so that, of course, I'm browsing the internet for hairstyles. Oy gevalt. (Is this me trying to have me time or is this just avoidance? I am thinking about getting my hair cut for increased confidence at the conference, since my clothes are threadbare and my work not so hot.)

We finally figured out that Tot's cough that keeps waking him up is probably not a hold-over from his last cold, but from a new round of teething. Yay second molars. Oh goodie. Tot slept for a whole half hour of his nap yesterday and then woke up after about an hour last night. Tot ends up nursing all night, so I'm not getting much sleep. So I'm grumpy anyway today. I don't anticipate that tonight will be any different -- and I've got to wake up at 5am tomorrow. And as if I weren't already freaked out about going out of town (not being prepared plus just hating being gone, often convinced I'm going to die on the plane), now I'm worried that AL and Tot are going to have a terrible time because Tot won't have the comfort of nursing.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out what to say in those three pages. I mean, who cares about Animal Mating anyway. And what does it have to say to Root Vegetables anyway? Am I just a pretender to Root Vegetable Studies anyway, since I'm really more of a theorist? Eeegads. So, in the interest of naming things properly: anxiety plus. Waaaa.

2 comments:

Tiger Mom PhD said...

My only advice is to only cut your hair if you are certain it is what you want...I cut all mine off on a whim and wasn't happy. All the layers are finally gone and I am so happy with it! But if it will make you feel awesome and confident then go for it. But perhaps a pair of power shoes will make you feel the same way? I have shoes that I wear when I present - I love them and they make me confident. I'm sure your paper will rock!

So sorry Tot isn't feeling well and that you are anxious about things and not getting any sleep on top of everything. Sending you hugs and support that you can do this.

Also, I didn't know coughing was a sign of teething...Little T has had a cough (mainly at night) for a while now. Nothing that concerns us just a random cough without any other symptoms. I wonder if it is teething. We have 6 more to go. Thanks for the tidbit of information.

Earnest English said...

Tiger Mom, good point about the hair. I keep looking at these long layers haircuts (mine is all one frizzy length), and thinking they're a good idea -- but will going to a conference where I have a new hairstyle really add to my confidence or make me feel like a total imposter? So thanks for that.

Also, here's why we think coughing is a part of teething: all the drool, which then they need to swallow or cough up. But I have to confess that when I looked into Tot's mouth, those second molars were in there! The poor guy must've been teething, and we mistook it for a cold (or he had a cold while he was teething). I can't believe I missed it, though this is a VAST improvement over his other teething adventures, which were just terrible. We're not sure that the coughing is from teething, though teething plus a cold he had where he was coughing? I think they'd build on each other in a bad way.

It sounds like Little T and Tot have the same kind of thing, because Tot's coughing is MUCH worse at night, hence he wakes up and you know the rest of that story.

Thanks for your good wishes. I get so nervous before traveling now! I used to love getting out of town -- I hardly recognize myself. So I appreciate your good wishes even more.