Why?

In one year I "go up for tenure." This is my big professional news, which has meaning for academics, but seems to baffle everyone else. My friends and family furrow their brows, nod, and say "oh." A few daring souls will then follow this a response with asking what this actually means. Having had this experience several times in the last month motivated me to keep track of the last year before I go up for tenure for two reasons. The first is to help my friends and family experience the secret life of an academic. I have never considered being a professor very mysterious, but like all professions, it isn't clear to people outside the profession what people do all day. Even my husband has once commented "...whatever it is you do all day." So, with that in mind, I do feel it is important for the people who are closest to me to understand that teaching is only a part of what I do all day and that writing a paper for publication isn't the same as writing a term paper in college. The second reason for tracking my year before tenure is for myself. I may forget, one day, what it was like before reaching tenure. I may loose sight of touch how much pressure is felt by junior faculty before tenure or how important it is to protect junior faculty from activities that take away from what is evaluated in their tenure decisions. So it is a diary for my own memory, as I am finding more and more that my cognitive capacity is limited and that the various debits on my attention during a typical semester can make me absent minded. I assume this may also diminish my memory of the experience to some extent. Therefore, let the record begin. I hope that some may find it useful information to understanding loved ones and their experiences or simply knowing what to expect if embarking on an academic career.