you've come a long way baby

i was just looking at photos from the conference my mom's organization had in SF. and of course, i was weeding through to find ones of my mom and anyone else i may know, and i came across this one...



and being someone who takes photos, i always try to look at them objectively, not easy. but this one just struck me. i looked at it as if i was someone who doesn't know her like i do -- a participant at the conference, perhaps, or a stranger, and then finally as a daughter who's watched her mom work her way up in the organization. remembering the wins and the losses.

and i was overwhelmed with pride. she looks so grown up (can i say that about my MOM?!) and so confident, and so able. not that she's never been these things, but now the mom that we (her family and close friends) have always seen is out there -- for the world to see.

i had a boss tell me one time that he was proud of me. PROUD OF ME. (of course i can't remember what it was precisely that made him proud of me, but that's not really important.) that has stuck with me for many years. how often does someone tell you that, professionally?! i mean we hear it growing up, in school, when we win a game, etc. but professionally, not only did it make me feel good, but it also felt very personal.

and so now i'm passing that on to you, mom. i'm proud of you. you've come a long way baby.