# Chateau de la Tobler

## Friday, October 21, 2005

### The stay-at-home-geologist

So this week was the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. In even years the meeting is held in Denver, in odd years it is held in cities around the country (Reno, Boston, Philadelphia). This year it was held in Salt Lake City, at the Salt Palace (convention center; not to be confused with Saltair, the old dance hall on the Great Salt Lake. Am I the only one who gets these confused?). Dr. Christiansen thought it would be a good idea if I went, and thanks to the generosity of my sister-in-law Kim (she lives in South Jordan) and my wonderful sister Telima, I was able to drop the kids off and go!
As far as the science goes, it was fabulous. I went to the igneous petrology sessions, the Snake River Plain/Yellowstone hotspot sessions, the Mt. St. Helens sessions, the volcanology session (of course); off topic of my favorite subject but still fascinating, I went to the Katrina/Rita sessions, introductory geology teaching sessions, some talks on Mars and Saturn, and an interesting talk on Lake Bonneville spit emplacement and the location of the Pleistocene jetstream. (Didn't know anyone cared, did you? Oh, you don't care about the Pleistocene jetstream? Sorry.)
On the non-scientific side, it was still fabulous. I haven't been without the kids for more than a few hours since Ezra was born (excluding Girls Camp, and as anyone can tell you, that's just exchanging one set of troubles for another), and, while I did have to run back to Kim's during the lunch break so I could nurse Mercy, it was very...liberating. I remembered that I was not only a mom, but a geologist with opinions and insights that some people might actually find interesting! And it is fun to wander around the exhibit hall and look at things without wondering if Ezra or Mercy are going to reach out and grab something that shouldn't be grabbed by drooly, messy fingers.
That said, I'm glad to be back to a more normal, regular routine, and to get to spend quantity and quality time with my kiddos. I wouldn't give up my kids for anything, and I wouldn't want to have to compartmentalize my time with them the way many working moms must. So I enjoyed my adventure at the Salt Palace, and am enjoying being at home again too!

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