I am chatting with a friend from graduate school, who is a few days away from his final defense and fretting a bit. We talk about someone I've met in Germany who now lives in the same Pacific Northwest city where he, his wife, and their five-month-old son are moving to very soon.

Him: "It's crazy to me, that you've been gone long enough to know people who are now themselves gone from your current place. Seems only yesterday that you were here, and all the whole crew was there, and I wasn't even contemplating ever finishing my PhD."

Me: "What's crazy to me is that I've been gone long enough that you and R made an entire five-month-old from scratch. You were barely starting to think about a family and now you've created a whole human being, happily chewing on nylon books and all."

Him: "Point."

Him: "Also the last time I saw you I was giving you a ride to the airport to catch a plane to the very same city we're moving to. How crazy is that?"

Me: "... Everything will be better after you defend, I promise."