The Grandmother Ego Boost

I got back to Indiana yesterday around the same time that two of my friends did, so we took the shuttle from the airport together. We'd all been interviewing, so we had stories to swap--of heinous grad students, of awkward encounters with professors, and of the moments where we really clicked with an academic or got to meet one of our scholarly idols (I did! And so help me, it was cool.) It's a weird process, as all interviews are. So much preparation, so much mascara application, and so much hoping that you're not going to do something awkward or uneducated. The thing that I have to remember is that these are academics, and they are therefore a little socially awkward, so I should just embrace this and roll with it. I don't know how this topic came up, but one of us said something about our grandmothers and job interview advice, and it went something like this:

Friend: my grandmother always tells me that schools would be lucky to have me because of my smile, and my "perfect teeth". I don't think Dr. [name redacted] cares about my teeth though.
Me: I got the teeth thing too! Mine told me that interviews were easier for me than "homely people" because I could just smile and people would hire me.
Friend 2: well, mine told me that I should be a newscaster because she thinks with my face I should be on TV!

And then we all giggled about this, but it got me thinking about grandmothers, great-aunts, and the like--people who think you're infallible when you are really fallible, and how this is such a wonderful thing to have. And sometimes, when you are feeling particularly aimless, dumb, or unprepared, it's exactly what you need. Yes, parents do it too, but nothing beats a grandmother in your corner. I remember I made the mistake of calling my gram on Valentines Day a few years ago, and she asked whether I had a man to buy me candy. I said no, while mentally banging my head on the wall, and she said, "oh, you can buy your own candy! You don't need a MAN!" Grandmothers don't let you have a pity party for yourself. They know that we're smart, and brave, and awesome. Maybe we should just remember that we are awesome, too.