Goose Eggs, Professors, and “Secret Lives”

A few weeks ago, my Mom and I were shopping at Macy’s when I heard someone call out, “Hi Professor Hammond!” I turned around to see one of my former students behind a checkout counter. I headed over to chat about how she was doing, how her law school applications are coming, when she is getting engaged, that sort of thing. After I said goodbye, I walked back to where my Mom was browsing and she looked at me, somewhat incredulously, and said, “Professor Hammond?” I didn’t think anything of it, but she had never heard anyone call me professor before, and it kind of took her by surprise. She got a kick out of calling me “professor” for the rest of the night.

It was pretty funny, but it got me thinking about the different personas we have at home, work, church, ect. We are the same person, obviously, but status, background, experience, relationships all shift slightly. It’s sort of like having a secret life without it really being a “secret”. And then, sometimes you get glimpses into those other contexts, like my Mom hearing me being called “professor”.

I got a glimpse into my sister Renae’s “secret life” as a Nurse Practitioner when we were in St. Joseph for Christmas. Madi had fallen off one of the extra-bouncy beds, and got a huge goose egg for her trouble. We were having a hard time calming her down, and a little worried about a concussion, so Renae put on her “medical professional” hat and checked it out.

While I have asked her (too many) medical questions before, I had never seen her truly in action. She was obviously trying to keep it light for Madi’s sake, even donning a goofy headlamp to “see better”, but the questions she was asking and the tests she was performing had a serious undercurrent. It was so cool to see her in her element, applying all of her classroom studies, clinical hours, and nursing experience, even with this small issue. I could imagine her in the exam room at work, talking through the medical history of a patient, determining the best course of treatment.

It is one thing to “know” about Renae as my younger sister or as my friend. It is another thing altogether to “know” about her in a completely different context. Hmmm… I’m trying to think of the word to describe the feeling it gave me. Pride, perhaps? Inspiration? Confidence?

Whatever it was, it was quite the moment.

It made me want to see the rest of my family in their “secret lives”…fixing quality issues, drawing, analyzing data, teaching, arguing motions, caning, wiring, stamping…just so that I can get a more complete understanding of who they are.

Madi’s bump is gone now, but how I look at Renae is forever changed…for the better.

— Post From My iPhone