20 December 2005

Dear friends and family,

Alexa and I have had a delightful year of parenthood. Last December Margaret was under ten pounds, alert and active, but stationary. Since then, she has started rolling over (in March), crawling (in April), crawling up stairs (in August), and walking (in September). She is still a little small (at the tenth percentile for weight) and her hair is a little thin on top, but is quite healthy and has a good appetite. She has also picked up a few American Sign Language words, including “daddy,” “mommy,” and “more.” She talks a lot, but we’re not sure we understand what she is saying. (We hope this is not a dress rehearsal for adolescence.) She also has grown fond of bringing us books to read (she is a regular patron at the local library), paying attention for a minute before toddling over to another book or a toy. She readily shows affection, and even knows to leave our long-suffering cat, Echo, alone! We feel blessed every day to have such a wonderful daughter.

Baby Margaret, still for a few moments, last April.

Most of our traveling the past year has been to show off Margaret to friends and family back in LA. We also took a weekend trip to Chicago in June to see a friend from school, Chang Hee Kim, get married. Margaret bravely endured two seven-hour car rides. I was pleased to see old friends; I was not pleased to see how many times we had to pay toll fees along Interstate 90!

We try to remain active and connected to both the local and the universal church. We were moved by the death of John Paul II and heartened by the election of Benedict XVI. (Alexa dissents from the dissent of her alma mater, the College of St. Catherine, regarding both pontiffs!) A Macalester colleague has a nephew studying at the minor seminary, St. John Vianney, here in St. Paul, and raves about the quality of the intellectual and spiritual formation his nephew is receiving. After a nine year hiatus from choral music, I joined our parish choir this past fall. As a former Episcopalian, I suffered from a certain degree of snobbery regarding Catholic worship, at least as I witnessed it in LA. I have had occasion to repent of my snobbery! We have a talented choir led by an amazing director, Rob Pontious. The ability to sing a capella and in Latin is taken for granted, with forays into French, German, and even Anglican works!

Alexa continues to work as a registered nurse on a casual basis. Her employer, St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown St. Paul, has recently introduced computerized charting, making her job somewhat easier. She also remains active with a neighborhood mom’s club, recently joining its babysitting co-op. She has recently joined a local chapter of Familia, a lay Catholic group committed to studying and following the church’s teachings on family life. Most importantly, she is enjoying life as a full-time mom, diligently caring for Margaret and trying out lots of new recipes. Her one piece of cooking advice: use kosher salt liberally!

I had a busy summer, training two new students to work in my research lab, writing an article for a chemistry journal, submitting a grant proposal, and preparing my application for tenure. Tenure decisions are made each fall by a personnel committee consisting of six elected faculty members, the president, and the provost (or chief academic officer). Last week, the provost announced that the personnel committee was recommending me for tenure. These decisions are usually not announced until the Board of Trustees gives their official approval in January. The provost decided to break with custom to let me enjoy the holidays free from suspense!

A positive tenure decision unavoidably singles out and glorifies an individual, and thus distorts reality. My success was contingent on the good offices of many people. My chemistry colleagues knew how to encourage me and had confidence in my ability to find my own voice in the classroom. The Class of 2005, which included our largest group of chemistry majors in decades, was consistently enthusiastic and receptive to my efforts. (And good student attitudes are never to be taken for granted!) A friend and colleague of mine who teaches at Cal State Fresno, Alam Hasson, taught me how to make my research a lot more interesting and relevant. And, of course, this job would have been impossible with Alexa’s unflinching support.

Margaret playing with her duck armada during bath time (in September).

Margaret and her parents enjoying a sunny winter day last week.

A constant touchstone is veteran columnist George Will, who several years ago quoted approvingly from Oscar Wilde: “The problem with socialism is that it takes too many evenings.” The same could be said for teaching at a liberal arts college. My years at Macalester have been driven by my need and desire to satisfy both students and colleagues. Tenure makes the consequences of no satisfying these constituencies less dire, but the pressure to perform never completely disappears. However, Margaret has wonderfully rearranged our priorities, and Alexa and I are eager to welcome other children into our home.

Take care, and best wishes for all of you in 2006!