Having my family away for a week recently was weird. I've
been away from my husband and kids before, but it's rare to have a stretch of time that long where they are away from me.
I thought I would be productive having the house to myself. But
I wasn't. I was uninspired and listless. I found myself
sleeping in while cuddling the dog, eating cereal, and binge watching
things like Breaking Bad and Call the Midwife.
Which is essentially what I would do if I were sick. So what
was that about?
It got me thinking about skill sets. We specialize in
activities in our own little worlds, and develop expertise in trivial
matters that most will never appreciate.
When I was in college I was a research assistant in a Music
Cognition Lab. Ohio State had one of the best such programs in
the world at the time. I had deep admiration and respect for my boss who I thought ran her lab smoothly and well,
and I enjoyed my work.