So here it is.
I was convinced by a friend to set up this blog as a means to keep in touch with long-distance friends. I will try my best to keep everyone up-to-date on my life, but there are, most likely, going to be some pretty random/pointless entries. If all my entries were simply a review of my daily life, those would be some pretty boring entries. My intentions for this blog is to just talk about random things I have observed or am feeling. A hodgepodge of miscellany, if you will.
I'm currently in the second year of my M.A. program in Sociology. I won't go into huge depth, but for my thesis I am examining how parents experience the transition to the empty nest (i.e., when all their children have left the home). I will be looking at how it affects their health and well-being, and if their gender and/or their ethnocultural identity play a role in their experience of the empty nest.
I'm enjoying school and work (I'm a research assistant), though it can be very time-consuming and stressful at times. I really like the city we live in and I really like living on campus. It's cool living amidst a forest. It's very pretty here and I like the weather. It actually doesn't rain as much as I initially thought it would -- there's actually a good variety. So I'm able to enjoy the sunny, clear days as well as the rainy, foggy days. Because, let's be honest, 365 days of rain would probably put me on the verge of insanity/homicide.
I'm also really enjoying living in Canada. It gives me a new perspective on education, politics, social issues, etc. Plus, it's fun picking up on the little differences between Canada and the U.S. For example, all products here have both English and French on the label. Oh yeah and Thanksgiving is in two weeks. Thanksgiving before Halloween just blows my mind!
5 comments:
Hey Heather!
I think your thesis is very interesting. You should ask both mine and Brian's mom about empty nest because they both recently went through it and they went crazy. I'd like to see how it turns out!
--Shannon
Yes! Blogs are everywhere! Good to see you in the virtual world, even if it can't be in person. I will be in the Seattle/Tacoma area in a couple weeks for a professional conference that I am going to present at. I don't know how close that is to you, but if you have extra time to come down, I'll be around that area.
Shannon-
That's one of the reasons I was interested in doing research on this topic -- because at our age, so many of our parents are experiencing the empty nest or the emptying nest (i.e., at least one child has left and at least one child still remains). I know so many people going through this. It's interesting to see how various people experience this period.
Some people are really happy to have their children leave. They feel proud that they were successful in raising their kids into adults, they're happy/proud about the reason the child left (marriage, to go to school, etc.), and/or they're happy to have more time for themselves now. They can travel more, have more time together as a couple, etc.
Whereas, other people are really sad to have their children leave. They miss the child's companionship or help around the house. Some feel their main purpose/identity in life was being a parent and that is now gone.
And then some people experience a combination of these two emotions. They are happy to have their children leave, but at the same time they really miss them and their company. It's not so black and white.
It's also really interesting to see what strategies parents use to cope with or deal with the empty nest. Some parents keep in daily contact with their child and continue to provide emotional support. Some parents continue to provide physical support (e.g., bringing over home-cooked meals, continuing to provide some financial support, doing their laundry, etc.) and that makes them feel like they still have that parental role. Some parents take on new roles to fill the parenting role -- they might go back and get a college degree, might join a book club, join more social circles, etc.
I'm just excited to examine similiarities and differences between various different people's experiences.
Sorry to go off for quite a while on that. When you're working on something for two years, you tend to go on and on when talking about it!
For my thesis, I've limited the participants to those in the Greater Vancouver area (because I'm doing face-to-face interviews). Otherwise, I would totally include Cheri and Karen and talk with them about their experiences. Thanks for the suggestion and the interest!
Sarah-
Congratulations on presenting at a conference! That's awesome! What dates are you going to be in Seattle (or what dates are you going to be available to possibly hang out)? Because if we're available that day, we'll definitely try to make it down (Seattle is about 2.5 hours away -- depending on where in Seattle, or Tacoma, you're at).
I'll be in Tacoma on Wed. Oct. 17 for the conference and I'll be busy with that until Saturday morning/afternoon. When the conference is over I'll head up to Seattle. I don't know what hotel I'll be in, but if you wanted to stay the night we could make sure we're in the same hotel. I have all day Sunday (Oct. 21) until my plane leaves at 5:00pm. The department is paying for my trip, so I'm way excited to waste their money! I'd like to see you guys and I'd like someone with knowledge of the city to show me around. I hope we can meet up!
~sarah
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