The Harvard Mum Project. Chapter 1: Staying present in the last home season

Harvard University received 53,700 applications for this incoming class of 2029. Of those, 1,950 were admitted, a 3.63% acceptance rate. My oldest of two sons, Nicholas McCullough, is one of them. He’ll play defensive tackle for the Harvard University football team, who recruited him, and he’ll study economics.As mother’s day weekend approaches, my last with him under our roof, I’m feeling what any Harvard parent might feel: Pride. Euphoria. Excitement. Awe. The deeper feelings, impending heartbreak of him moving away from our Wisconsin base to Boston, I’m processing—and managing, in part through honoring Competency No 5. That deceptively tricky competency of staying present in a space of not knowing feels super powerful and potent to me now, with one delightful and lovable son still with us and one getting ready to leave. I’m reading this episode from a first essay published today on Medium, honoring an 18-year chapter of raising a son within two cultures and in ways that instilled confidence, calm, and a quest for adventure. And we’re starting another. I’m calling this essay series “the Harvard Mum Project” (because we say “mum” vs. “mom” where I come from).Your show host, D G McCullough is a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. She runs Hanging Rock Coaching and serves as a communications coach to leaders all over the globe. Find her on LinkedIn.  Join her active listening workshop on Maven, Listen Like a Boss.