I'm having a party.

In case you missed the memo I have a life coach and I've been working on creating my best life. It's really fun and has great homework, like this week's be crazy, ridiculous, and rambunctious. Levity is one of my core values and I'm going to honor the crap out of it.

I'm also going to work on my YESes and NOs. I'm finding out what they are and living them. Today I realized the I needed to add "waiting to celebrate" to my list of things I will not do any longer (i.e. a NO).

When something awesome happens you have to celebrate it right then. If you hold off, the moment passes and it just feels contrived to celebrate it later. Kind of like throwing your birthday party three months later because that was more convenient. It's silly and you don't really feel like you're celebrating your birthday anyway.

As a result of this, my homework also includes throwing a party to celebrate the completion of my Ph.D. It's a pretty fricking big deal and I haven't been acting like it because I don't feel like I really have one yet even though my adviser, George Armelagos (who is a pretty big deal in his own right), called me Dr. Campbell Hibbs. I don't technically have a Ph.D. until Dean Tedesco signs off on my degree.

I don't know if that has happened yet or not. Funny huh? You do all this work for years and write this huge dissertation and send in all this paperwork and then you don't  get an email when the dean actually signs the stuff. Talk about a lack of closure.

My graduation date, however, is Dec. 18th. By then I can be assured that the dean has signed and I do, in fact, have the right to reference myself as Dr. Amber Campbell Hibbs. So I'm throwing a party on the 18th.

It's about the worst possible time of year to throw a party. People are crazy busy with The Holidays and whatever, but you know what? I'm not waiting. I'm having my party the day I know I have a Ph.D. and that's that.

I hope you can come.