No one spoils better than a mother

For the past four days, my mother has been spoiling me. And it has been beautiful.

She came out to Maryland to help me survive the last week before my oral exam. In the not quite four days she stayed with me, here's what she did: made double batches of four meals (so that we could both eat well now and freeze some to eat well later in the week), washed my laundry, trimmed all the shrubs in my yard, went grocery shopping every single day, baked brownies and banana nut muffins, vacuumed my floors, and washed about a hundred sinks of dishes (from all that cooking). On top of that, she gave hugs, made me tea, served me ice cream, and generally made me feel well-loved. You can't ask for anything better in life.

On an additional note, I have loads of people cheering for me. One friend even wrote to say, "I am coming as close as an atheist can to praying for you." I just loved that. I'm grateful for all the support my friends have given me, and equally grateful to all my coworkers who have allowed me to let all my other work slide until next week.

Only six days left to go... I'll be sure to post the results on Monday once I know them.