thesis submitted for examination

This time last week, I submitted my doctoral thesis for examination! It is still sinking in. I would've liked to have gone to sleep for a week, but alas - I have classes to teach and a part-time Learning & Teaching Projects Manager job that needs doing to pay the bills, so I haven't really slowed down yet. I do have a feeling that something is missing though - a kind of guilt that I've had over the last couple of years has vanished. The guilt came when I was doing things that were not associated with the dissertation. Even when it was productive stuff (publications, teaching, RA work, going to conferences) there was still a little internal voice that was telling me all of this other stuff was a distraction - 'just work on the dissertation'. Now, that voice is gone. It has been replaced by another voice... 'what will the examiners think of it?'.

The last sofa is still just out of reach while I wait for the reports to come back. Until then, I think I'll bask in the relief for a while.