When our three weeks in Italy came to an end, our family didn't head home. We flew north instead: from Renaissance marble and Tuscan hills to the long summer light of Oslo for me to officiate the wedding of my former PhD student.
There's a particular kind of pride that comes from watching someone you mentored move through the world. You see them defend a dissertation, you see them find their footing professionally, and then one day they ask you to stand with them at the moment their life changes shape. Saying yes was easy. Figuring out how to do it well took real thought.