Mom's vaction . . . sort of

In the midst of working on my thesis, I somehow forgot the second half of my sentence in the process of writing the first half. Having waited unsuccessfully for the second half to return, I've decided to try reviving my brain with some non-thesis writing . . .

It all started when Mom couldn't find a babysitter. I guess it started even before that when Mom applied for grad school in the first place, but that was a really long time ago now. Anyway, Mom couldn't find a babysitter, and so Dad finally threw up his hands in exasperation (so to speak) and declared that Mom should spend today working on her thesis while he took care of the kids. And so, a little before 8, Dad herded Mom out the door with instructions to work on her thesis, buy food as needed, and don't come home until the thesis is done (meaning done enough to send off to be critiqued for further revision).

So, off Mom went. First stop, Tim Horton's, a coffee shop chain that also sells a decent variety of breakfast food (as in real food, not just donuts and pastries). Mom ate her B.E.L.T. sandwich in the University parking lot while working up the nerve to officially infiltrate the University. You see, although Mom is a grad student, the University for today is actually a couple of thousand miles away from Mom's school.

Mom finished the sandwich and began her infiltration mission. She headed to the designated building, having received assurances that the building had little or no traffic on weekends. Indeed, Mom found all quiet, but there didn't seem to be any open rooms. However . . . she did find a long table in a quiet hallway, surrounded by a few plants and several locked refrigerators. Mom was relieved to learn from the labels on the fridges that they did not contain carcasses. Mom eventually began to feel at home, and had only to lament that there was no plug for her lap top on the wall by the table.

After some time at the table, the lap top inevitably threatened to die, and so Mom found a plug in the hall to revive it. However, Mom had spent some time in between thesis snippets planning her next meal, and it seemed like a good time to recharge Mom as well. So, Mom packed all her gear and headed out in search of food. Lunch from a dining services establishment proved tasty, although somewhat pricey. Mom then headed to the main Library, feeling that it might be wise to try to blend in with the general student population for awhile.

In the library, Mom found a fantastic study chair with a laptop table, a stuff shelf, and even a laptop battery shelf all built into it (a comfy chair, too). Mom spent a few hours there and made some progress on her thesis, but necessity eventually forced her to rise in search of a restroom. One advantage of the table back in the hall had been its proximity to a restroom and a drinking fountain. Mom decided to grab some food from Jimmy John's on the way back to the first building.

Back at the first building in the hall, Mom continued to make some progress, until the aforementioned incident of sentence forgetting. It's been an interesting day for Mom. All in all, Mom approves of student life. However, Mom can't say she'll be sorry to leave it (hopefully) and return home to Muffin Land. Academics may be good for the brain, but Muffins are good for the heart.