In cap and gown they march along, as gargoyles on gothic buildings look down on another commencement.

Her shaky hand, veined and marked by time, waves from the seated crowd. It once rocked him to sleep and dressed him for school.

He blows a kiss. Her fingers close on it.

MJ is an aviator, author, and speaker on ways risk and fear can work to our advantage to dream and explore. She is preparing for suborbital space flight and researching ways to improve astronauts’ long-term space missions.