Done!

Late last week, I met with my advisor to have a conversation about the American Civil Rights Movement. Otherwise known as a comprehensive exam. Which also happened to be the last hurdle I needed to clear in order to graduate.

I’ll cut straight to the chase… I passed!

I’ve submitted my thesis online, I’ve filled out my exit survey, and the comprehensive exam was the last outstanding item on my degree sheet. Unless I’ve missed something in the grad student handbook (which is a thought that keeps me up at night, that thing is long), I’m going to be walking across a stage in a few weeks, and somebody is going to hand me a fake diploma.

Because they send the real diplomas out in the mail.

On Monday, I stopped by the bookstore to pick up a cap, gown, and hood. I should have preordered a set, but I was so convinced that I would never make this happen, I never put my order in. Luckily for me, they had plenty left in stock. I brought my haul home, and I was all set to make my triumphant blog post about finally graduating.

And then my Mom told me Lilian hadn’t felt well that day. And then I realized that I didn’t feel so great myself. And then Kristian called to tell me that his throat was starting to hurt. Dun dun dun.

I’ll spare you the gory details, but this house has gone through a lot of facial tissue this week. And I had to burn two days of PTO. We all went to the doctor together on Tuesday, ostensibly to get Lilian looked at. “She looks great,” she said, ” but you look terrible.” Viral conjunctivitis will do that to you. I’m just glad that LJ seems unfazed. I wouldn’t wish this week on my worst enemy.

I thought I was feeling better yesterday, I went to work and everything. And then this damn thing boomeranged on me and I woke up in the middle of the night last night feeling worse than ever. One eye was so swollen, it looked like I’d been punched in the face. I’m feeling better after sleeping all morning and then chilling on the couch, but I’m just waiting for it to all come back again.

Did I mention that Gracie got skunked again over the weekend? Because she got skunked again over the weekend. Every time my breathing clears up, I get a nice whiff of eau de skunk. If my eyes didn’t hurt so badly, I’d say that this illness was a blessing in disguise.

I know it’s a fairly common phenomenon to soldier your way through a stressful situation and to get massively sick when it’s all said and done. Grad school took five years of intense effort, so I suppose it makes sense that I’d get the head cold to end all head colds when it’s all said and done. I just keep reminding myself that I won’t feel like this forever. Graduation is in a few weeks, so I should be feeling better by then. We’ll probably have a party later in the summer, after we’ve fixed up our backyard. I might be sitting on the couch, but I have the back door open and a nice breeze is blowing through the house.

Plus, I have this little cutie to snuggle with.

And the very best husband in the whole, wide world.

I was feeling pretty wretched when I started this post, but now I’m feeling pretty good.