Becoming An Adult

Gregg and I have been discussing the logistics of commuting to Philadelphia. As I mentioned earlier, Gregg will be taking the train there and back. I will pick him up and drop him off at the train station. The problem we have is during his orientation week. Unlike my extended orientation, Temple only has a two-day orientation. However, the orientation starts at 8am which makes it necessary for Gregg to take the 5:30am train get there on time. The next train is at 7am which will be too late.

While discussing this, it suddenly hit me. We are now adults. We are living an adult life. You see, in the 5 years that Gregg and I have been together, we have never simultaneously held full-time jobs. In fact, last year was the first time that we did not work together in the same location. Before that, we worked together in adjoining cubicles at the Miller Center. When that was done, we could go to a coffee shop and read or go home. There were days when we did not have to go in to the Miller Center at all and these were my favorite. We studied at home, moved to a coffee shop, then to a B&N and then went out with friends at night. So, this is the first time we will be driving off to work every day in different directions.

Most people will find it sad that Gregg and I are embarking on full-time jobs this late in life. Certainly, I have never been the one to eulogize graduate school or deny its tendency to delay significant life events. But this is a milestone which, in my mind, deserves comment. And while I am excited about it (and not merely for financial reasons), I also feel a little sad at the end of an era. But then again, as I always remind myself, we are academics and our lives, however full it is with committees, advising and classes, have a flexibility which allows us to approximate graduate student life at least some of the time.