My sister graduates from medical school in May and this past weekend we had her Match Day. For anyone who has been through medical school before, you know this is one of the biggest days of your career because it determines what Residency Program you would be going to for the next chapter in your journey.

I’ve been surprised at the amount of medical students in my sisters graduating class that are married. That may sound odd but in my head, I thought less people would be married because they go straight from college to medical school, with little time for extracurricular activities. Clearly I was wrong.

My sister was married last May and as they talked about where she would go, location was a huge factor. Her husband Will is a farmer in Western Kentucky and unfortunately, farms can’t move like normal jobs do. So it ultimately came down to what the closets programs to their home would be.

We prayed for her for months about this decision. I know my dad would have had comforting words to give her and he would remind her that family is more important than anything else.

As she stood there on Friday to open her letter, my heart ached. For the future and what it could hold for her and her husband, for the sweet purity of her excitement and eager expectation, and for my dad’s inability to be there to witness this moment. He started this journey with her. He encouraged her long ago to pursue medical school. He continued to remind her to follow her dreams, even when she got passed up for selection in medical school the first time. He was the first one she called when she got accepted, and the first one to show up to her white coat ceremony. And I know he was the first one to show up Friday to celebrate with her, even though we can’t see him. The pain remains all the more.

She was matched with the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, KY for internal medicine, one of the best programs in the state.