Celebrating New Beginnings

My friend B defended her dissertation yesterday! Yeah B!!! She has worked very hard and yesterday she gave a great presentation to faculty and students - 33! I was amazed at the number of people who attended. In my program there was not this custom of inviting guests to join the committee for the presentation and Q & A but I like it - it is a nice way to build academic community. We celebrated afterward by hosting a gathering in the horticulture gardens on campus. We organized a 'surprise' potluck to be held immediately following the defense. The surprise didn't really come off as planned - B asked too many questions - but she was pleased with the outcome. There were a good number of folks there and since the weather was great we had a nice party. It is a big day and I hope she savors some of this time to herself - the protection/safety net of school has run its final course - thats all there is.