zero sleeps

Well, today is the big day, "zero sleeps," for those of you who have been following M's countdown on FB. She and N. are off to the heartland for new and different adventures and degrees. I am really, really going to miss them. Bigtime. But this is what we want for our grad students, right? They are supposed to do this. Nonetheless, I will really feel the void--in part because we shared Southern traditions and sensibilities that one simply cannot relate to unless they've been lived. She was also just a really good student. I still remember her walking through the door for her first seminar back in 2005--freshly graduated from her East Coast SLAC--young, cute, smart and ambitious. I instantly knew I had "read" her application well. And she has just never failed in these past years to step up to anything I tossed her way. Happy Trails, M...it's been a great run.