Oh F***

I don't know whether it's mommyhood or my new dull position that have changed me, but I seem to have lost a bit of my edge.

An illustrative example. I had an incredibly productive 2 year postdoc, and we sent the primary paper out of my work to one of the top 2 high profile journals. For those not familiar with the paper submission process, like with everything in life, people usually aim for the top and then continually re-evaluate until they settle into their appropriate level. I actually thought that we had a pretty good shot, but I'm a pessimist at heart and didn't even bother to get my hopes up.

My old mentor called me at my new job one day a couple of months ago - strange in itself - to tell me the news. It got in! She was understandably excited, but it turns out she had made a bet with my labmates about what I would say when I heard the news. She had chosen 'Oh F***!'. I mean, my BOSS thought I was going to say that (and she would have been right if I hadn't known that other people would hear me in my sub-par work environment). My actual response 'No Way!' definitely pailed in comparison. Where has all my grit gone?