I have a lot of friends in various stages of the tenure process at PUIs around the country. In contrast, only a handful of my friends/acquaintances are at research institutions.
One friend in particular has had quite the productive academic career already (and I mean pro-duc-tive!). I have no doubt that many accolades and awesomeness are in store for him.
The other day, we were chatting about some of his academic successes. A thought popped into my head, forcing me to interrupt our conversation. "Do your parents understand what you do?" I asked. "Do they fully appreciate your achievements?"
I often wonder about the relationship of such research rock stars with their parents. Do their parents understand the rock star nature of their kids' careers? I have to wonder, as I don't have that problem.
This is a result of:
1. My parents are in academia.
2. I'm not a research rock star. Duh.
But seriously, what is up? For those of you with non-academic parents, do you have to constantly explain your work? Or do you just not discuss it? And isn't that weird?
