This morning, Margaret handed in the last written exam in her dissertation process; she will complete the ordeal with an oral defense of her exams on March 2. The oral won’t necessarily be a picnic, and writing a dissertation is a momentous challenge, but the obligation to compose a short essay on a not-precisely-anticipated topic for the approval of five authority figures entails a litany of onerous stresses – and Margaret has negotiated them, finally. In a very short while, she’ll be ABD. Yay, Margaret!