I recently turned 50 and my mom sent me a document she’d typed up from a composition book she’d started shortly after I was born. Reading the first few entries I was struck by how much I relate to her writing about me as I think about my children. We bring these helpless creatures into the world and do our best to help them become people in their own right.
My mom’s entries are dated. After I read the first two, I realized I wanted to wait to read more: savor them and understand them in the proper relative timing.[1] After discussing it with my mom, I’ve decided to publish them here 50 years after she wrote them down. The first entry will be on February 11, 2024.
Becky Ericson
My mom retired as a professor of astronomy. Becky Ericson was born in Moscow, Idaho. Her family moved within the state, but settled in McCall, which is near the middle of Idaho. Her middle school was in nearby Donnelly. She got her bachelor’s in Physics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.[2] When I was born she was working on her master’s degree in Physics at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. As we go, I will publish more about her to help explain details in her entries.
How to follow along
Join the Biography group using this invitation and you will automatically be subscribed to every new entry as they are published.
Feel free to comment on any of the posts. See you in February!
I subscribe to two Twitter accounts that share news articles from 50 and 100 years ago. (There’s also a 25 years ago feed that I haven’t followed. Not sure why but maybe I prefer my own memories.) ↩︎
That’s also where she met my dad. ↩︎