Beast Week

It has been an utterly insane week, with 13 hours of comprehensive exams over three days. And save for a few unexpected hiccups, like my computer shutting down 45 minutes into the stats exam and all my work getting lost, I, and my fellow cohortees survived! Yay!  Here we are celebrating right after our last test:

 See, I'm so excited, I'm jumping for joy

I wish I could say I felt some giant sense of relief, but with all the energy and stress leading up to this week, combined with the fact that we won't find out whether or not we passed for another 3 weeks or so, all I can say is I feel...less overwhelmed, and with each passing day, more relaxed. Of course, as soon as I finished, my first thought was: "Okay, now onto my dissertation." Egads. Our fellow classmates threw us a party called, "Comps 2012: Lets Get Crunked!" I did not get crunked. I had some ginger ale and left when everyone started playing flip cup with red wine and shooting consecutive brandy jello shots. That our cue, June Apple, time to go home and go to bed. 

I do wish I could have enjoyed a good ol' dirty martini, and perhaps one of the harder parts of this process is that between being pregnant and running after a toddler, I didn't feel like I had any ways of relieving stress. Enter Amos with the sweetest Mother's Day gift a pregnant gal could ask for: A snow cone machine! That and loads of chocolate. My mom also bought me a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure, as well as a foot massage, and a gift certificate to Graeter's Ice Scream (!) so I'm feeling like I probably won't miss that martini so much after all...well perhaps a little bit.

Comps felt so much more manageable because of how awesome all my friends and family were. Emily and Kim and my Mama-in-Law Bet were rock stars who entertained June Apple at fun places like the dog park while I buried my nose in books. My saintly mother not only took off work to  June Apple wrangle, but also made me meals and divine cupcakes. And of course, none of it could have happened without Amos who did all of the above plus put of with quite a few minor (and major) breakdowns that usually involved me screaming and crying- so for that, I am eternally grateful.

June Apple, of course, did her fair share of bringing levity to the whole situation. I mean, who can feel stressed when you have a 16 month old growling at you like a bear and demanding that you sing Itsy Bitsy Spider, so she can do the hand gestures? Its all relative with that kind of deliciousness.

I must say that my little guy was the ultimate grounding force during the tests themselves, reminding me to stay calm and keep it all in perspective- plus demanding that I take frequent pee breaks! I think he will prove to be my good luck charm, for sure!

And so, here I am at 21 weeks, tired, and ready to recharge!

 

Dear Baby Bear,

You and I had quite a week together! I am sorry for those couple extra cups of coffee and those many bags of gummy candy I consumed this week to keep me going. I promise to eat and drink much better from here on out to make up for it.

I hope that you didn't even realize how much stress I was under, as I tried really hard to stay relaxed throughout it all, if not in my mind, at least in my body.

We are already quite a team, you and I. I was certainly (as far as I know) the only person taking comps who had two brains collaborating on the exams! Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

So the next week will be focused on fun and relaxation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I know I will.

Your Papa and sister and I love you very much,

Mama