heather = S-M-R-T

Today I went to watch my friend, Heather, defend her dissertation. While she did a great job, as I knew she would, that is not what this post is really about. Watching her defend and talking with her delightful husband, Brandon, took me down memory lane a bit. You see, when Amos and I moved out here we only knew one couple, Julie and Keith (Julie is Jenn's best friend.) Anyway, we were lucky to meet several people through my grad program. Heather was the other girl in the cog studies (now learning science) phd program with me, and we really bonded in one of our first quarter classes (over disappointing paper comments on our first phd program papers--we were both demoralized). For the past many years she has been a confidant, commiserated with me on several occasions, read hundreds of pages of my writing, shared baskets of fries with me, talked to me about motherhood, gossiped with me about unimportant things, drooled over a new set of markers, given me good advice and provided me with motivation to keep going when I would get discouraged with research or writing or other grad school stuff. So, today marks a real turning point in her life. She and her husband and adorable boy, Matty, leave tomorrow for PSU, where she will be a professor. Her students have no idea how lucky they will be to have her. She is smart, thoughtful, compassionate, and interesting...and best of all--FUN! I'll miss having her in the same city with me. I know Heather, Brandon and Matty will have a great time in Pennsylvania, and I can't wait to hear all about their adventures. Watch out Nittany Lions, there's a new sheriff in town, and she's S-M-R-T!