I'm a Dissertation Orphan...and don't really care

So...for those of you who don't know--I am officially a doctoral candidate.  This means I have passed all my comprehensive exams of knowledge and have been deemed able to move forward to the dissertation process.

Exciting and terrifying at the same time.  This process is big.  Really big in my case, because as usual, I'm being an over achiever and hoping to complete a mixed methods project (crunching both number data and interview data).  One would hope to have support in navigating this process--the first big girl research adventure--but it hasn't really worked out that way.

My advisor and chair of my dissertation (the one who has supposed to help navigate) has received a job offer too good to give up and will be leaving this summer.

I should be upset and worried, I should be throwing a fit.  But, I can't seem to get myself that worked up about it.  Perhaps it's because I am not as far along in the proposal process (the first draft of my study in which I complete the review of prior studies and get down to the nuts and bolts of my study) or maybe it's that my program has lacked in support throughout so it's not that suprising.   I think the biggest part though is I don't have the energy to be concerned about it.  In fact, I've known for weeks now and I have yet to reach out to other professors to obtain a new dissertation chair.  I've been to caught up in the day to day, in the countless psychological assessment reports I'm required to write (each one takes 12-15 hours to complete), the classes I have to keep up, the four kids at home that I just can't even begin to think about my dissertation as a whole, much less care who's supposed to be supporting me with it.

My plan for this?  My last ditch effort to finish my doctoral program on time (bc if my proposal is not successfully defended in early Fall 2016, I will be unable to apply for the following years internship) is to ask my husband for a weekend at the end of April to write.  My goal is to have chapter one (of three) complete by the end of that weekend.  Is it possible?  yes.  Likely?  not really.   And as for no longer being an orphan?  Per the rules of the school, I need somebody.  So, I will set up meetings and try to beg someone to care...hopefully more than I do at this moment.