I have letters after my name!

Yesterday was the culmination of the last 5 years of my life. I successfully defended my PhD dissertation, and am now officially a doctor. Wow!

Everyone keeps telling me what a great accomplishment this is, and they are right. However, I don't deserve all the credit. Without my support system, I could never have made it through this whole process.

In 2004 when this process began, six other people joined the Chemistry department as well. Most of us have been pretty close through this whole process, and without their encouragement I probably would have given up long ago. I can talk to my husband about anything, but there are somethings he will never understand. The frustration of failed experiments, the joy of one working on the 996th attempt, the disappointment of a rejected manuscript and the butterflies before that first big conference presentation are all a part of grad school that only certain people can truly empathize with. This group of people, although they were under no obligation to do so, chose to come listen to my presentation yesterday even though they had heard it just a month ago. It truly did mean a lot to me to see them sitting in the audience.

My family has of course been there through everything. Sometimes it was a quiet word of encouragement, other times it was a joke at just the right time, but I know that the constant prayers were always lifting me up and smoothing my path. I won't name you all, but you know who you are and how you have helped me. All I can say is thank you.

Recently I have made some new friends that just rock my world. Melissa, Kimberly and Tammy, you guys are too much fun. Thanks for helping me de-stress and let loose a little bit. You probably saved my sanity (and maybe my marriage!).

All of these people have been integral to my success, but there is one person who has had to deal with me on a daily basis the whole time. My husband, Bob, has been my rock when it sometimes felt like I was sinking in quicksand. He's been there to cheer me up, help me celebrate and sometimes to just listen to me rant and rave. I don't know how he managed to put up with all of my craziness the last few months, but he has. He even suffered through my talks just to provide moral support. Sometimes he's the devil on my shoulder and other times he's that really annoying voice of logic and reason (I hate those times!). Most of all, he's my best friend and I don't know where I would be without him.

So as I celebrate this accomplishment in my life, I just want you to all know how much you mean to me and how much I appreciate all of your love and support.