This morning, I met with Dr. Dave's survey team and colleagues. About six months ago, we came together to design a survey. Dr. Dave and his team have done the heavy lifting but were generous enough to allow me to contribute to some questions. Today, we met to discuss an analytic plan now that we have preliminary survey results. The team met for most of the day, but I came in just for an hour. They were on time and ready to listen to me talk about what I was interested in seeing out of my section (and also gave me free lunch). The thing I enjoy most about working with Dr. Dave is that he is very good at seeing the big picture and helping me articulate ideas that I have in my head but cannot get out. Sometimes, when I am challenged on an idea, I give in easily because I lose my convictions and forget why I had the idea in the first place. But Dr. Dave follows up and always ties us back to the big picture and why the work matters. (The other collaborators are also pretty fantastic, too) Together, we deciphered and talked through my page of half sentences and shorthand that made up the analytic plan, and they not only understood it, they welcomed it. They gave me ownership of my section and looked to me for how to interpret it. It felt like a minor miracle that someone would plow through my plan with me and do it so graciously.
It was only an hour, and this might read like just a meeting, like how things are supposed to happen. In many ways, it was. People have meetings at work all the time. I have meetings all the time. I talk to people about my research all the time. But today, it felt fantastic. And while I am lucky and young enough in my career to have mostly only worked with good and kind people, I know enough to know that this isn't something to take for granted. So I treasure this moment here, for the winter to come.
