A Day in the Life of Susan Fehres

Fall 1996

On a typical workday I wake up and play with my toddler daughter for awhile, then have breakfast with my husband and daughter. She and I drive to the day care center at my workplace where she will play, paint, sing, nap and explore all day. It is a fine thing to have a good day care center at work!

I walk to my nearby office. There I listen to any phone messages, such as from a chemist I work with in Massachusetts, and check my electronic mail for business. I start to work through the list I had made the day before of things that need to be done today, and I add to it or check things off through the day. Typically, I go to meetings, make measurements in the lab, read technical papers, discuss progress with people I work with, work on a section of technical papers, or do other things. I usually eat a bag lunch at my desk while I work on the computer.

After work, I pick my daughter up, and we drive home, perhaps stopping at a hardware store, or a pet store, just for fun. My husband does nearly all the grocery shopping, so we rarely stop at a grocery store.

At home, we unload the car, and if my daughter is cooperative, I put things away, do laundry and maybe start some dinner. A cleaning lady comes every two weeks, thank heavens, so our home is not a total wreck as it would otherwise be. If my daughter is feeling clingy, she rides around on my back or I sit down and read her a story or play with her. My husband carrys out dinner once or twice a week, and the other weekdays, we eat simple dinners like macaroni and vegetables. We talk about things, often unsuccessfully over the contributions of our dear toddler.

We play with her or give her a bath, then my husband settles her into bed, while I put things away, clean up, and start reading a magazine or possibly a science fiction story. Another busy weekday comes to a close.

On weekends, we hike, garden, fix up things, go to playgrounds, or occasionally we see her aunts or grandparents or go camping.