Post-graduate.

Last Saturday, Dill, Bubby and I headed to the station to drop off my access badge. I said some goodbyes, showed Dill around the newsroom, and headed out. That was it.

It was kind of sad. Bittersweet, I guess.

It's all over. No more school, no more internship. Just me, at home, with Bubby.

The first week as a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) was a little boring and frustrating. We had the "swine flu" scare going around; I kept tabs on the KPHO Web site to stay abreast. I was a little wistful I wasn't there to write the stories myself. I watched the 5 o'clock news every day. I wished I was there.

Other than that, I had a LOT of free time.

I was so bored, I made oatmeal raisin cookies. For no reason. I exercised in the mornings (KPHO's morning show was playing in the gym; how's that for irony?). I napped. A lot. I even practiced the piano, something my mom couldn't pay me to do when I was in high school. I signed up to be a ChaCha guide. I figured I need something to occupy my time; might as well make money while doing it.

I'm not bitter about being a SAHM. It's just been a very abrupt transition. I've never been solely "at home" like this before. I now completely understand common SAHM obsessions -- I mean, hobbies like scrapbooking, beading, making ridiculously large baby headbands, etc. I see why moms have babysitting co-ops and playgroups. They need these outlets. WE need them.

Since I've been home, Bubby's vocabulary has at least tripled. She learns one new word a day. I don't know if there's any correlation, but I would like to think so.

Speaking of Bubby, she's walking over to the computer now; Elmo's over. Time for her mid-morning snack.

Many of you are probably wondering about the fate of my blog. I'm planning to keep it. I will always have the inner battle between my studious, work-minded self and my SAHM self. And I will always be an "intern" of motherhood. That sounds ridiculously cheesy, but it's true. Does anyone ever graduate from motherhood? Yes, when they DIE. So there's basically no end in sight for this internship!

And quite frankly, I feel more like a fish-out-of-water as a SAHM than I ever did as a news intern.

We've got a long way to go...