I defended my thesis with my baby asleep beside the screen

Dear Delyara, I began my master’s degree before becoming pregnant. After my daughter was born prematurely, I considered withdrawing. She spent seven weeks in neonatal care, and I wrote parts of my thesis beside her incubator. My university granted extensions, but childcare remained unreliable and expensive. Today, I defended the thesis online from my bedroom. Ten minutes before the presentation, the babysitter cancelled. I placed my daughter in a cot beside the desk and prayed she would sleep. Halfway through the examiner’s questions, she woke and began crying. I apologised and reached for her. The lead examiner said, “Please continue. Scholarship has always happened inside real life.” I finished the defence holding my daughter against my chest. The committee awarded the degree with minor corrections. Tonight, she is asleep beside the printed thesis, one hand resting on the page containing the dedication to her. I once believed motherhood had interrupted my education. Today, both appeared on the screen together, and neither made the other less serious.