"The one they pick's the one you'll know by..."

18 June 2023: Sitting here and thinking about my dad and about this song, which I can remember hearing him sing along to when I was a kid (badly, but that made it all the more charming).

When I called home today to wish my dad a happy Father's Day, I got around to telling him about my Assistant Dean position being eliminated. It shouldn't surprise me at all that he was wonderful about it. He said all the right things, including something I didn't realize I wanted to hear from him so much: that he thinks it's great that I am comfortable and happy enough professionally to not really want to be anything more than a professor. I told him how glad I was to hear him say it; it feels so good to be seen by him--and valued, loved, accepted. There isn't much more you can ask for from a parent.