SO proud!

I know this blog has been empty lately--I guess sometimes life just gets in the way. (Ironic, as this is a blog about what is going on in our life...) We have no shortage of things to write about, but sometimes there are moments that you know you'll forget if you don't make a note of them. Today is one day I don't want to forget.

Many of you know Priya is working on her dissertation--today was the day she had to defend her proposal in front of her committee. She'd been working towards this for months, and had been stressing over her powerpoint for the past few days. When she told me I could come and watch, I jumped at the chance.

When preparing for a moment like this, I'd imagine one of her worst fears might have been technology getting the best of the battle, and the slide presentation not working. Well, in front of about 10 people and her committee, this happened. Did she stumble? Not even for a second. She seamlessly talked through her entire proposal solely by glancing at her notes, while I cursed technology and glared at the screen the entire time. (Yes, I am an overprotective big sister.) When she finished, the board began asking her questions.

She didn't lose her cool for a moment. The questions weren't easy, and I'm sure having people pick apart something you've put your heart and soul into is incredibly tough. It was hard for me to sit there and not break into cheers every time she gave a response. But I thought I should keep my thoughts to myself, so I silently cheered and couldn't stop smiling. (Until a student asked a question. Needlessly. And it wasn't even an intelligent one. Seriously, woman? What goes around comes around--you'll have to defend one day too. She's lucky I didn't hit her.)

Long story short, I wanted to post this, as I know not too long from now (but probably WAY too long for Priya), she will be defending her thesis. So Priya, if you could do this entire defense with no slides, tough questions, and a student not being able to keep her mouth shut, that one will be a piece of cake! I know you'll blow this whole thing off as no big deal, and that everyone has to do it, and it's just a formality, but I don't care. It's a HUGE accomplishment!!

We are all so, so proud of you--I held my head up super high in that classroom today. And it'll probably be a while before it comes down. Love you soooooo much!