On to London. I had a fantastic time while there. I was of course, there for work, and that part went great. I had my first corporate speaking engagement, which resulted in both a job offer from a competitor, and interest from potential clients, which my boss overheard, so career-wise, the trip was a complete success. On a personal level, this being my first trip to London, I absolutely loved it. The people were friendly, gracious, and helpful. The history and architecture were so astounding and overwhelming, there were honestly moments where I was speechless. However, the overarching theme of my trip was "wow, I really think my daughter needs to live here for a while." I have never doubted the love I feel for my daughter - in fact, I often find myself in shock just how much I've completely given my life over to hers. It's never "what's going to be the best for my future?" any longer, now my entire life honestly revolves around "what's going to be the best for my daughter?" Just as my parents felt for me. In fact, my year living in NYC is commonly refereed to as "Grad School" in my family, as my parents financed most of the year's adventures.
I had some "thinking time" on the flight from JFK (I had a connection, and I honestly slept the entire flight from LHR to JFK), and I again was drawn back to the reverence I feel about my mom these days. Here was a woman who quite literally got up every day at quarter to four, just so she could be off work in time to pick me up from school. My parents, who never missed a dace recital, or a piano recital, or a sporting event, but it was my mom who also made sure that I had a clean uniform (for both school and sports), the perfect costume, that our house was clean, that dinner was cooked and on the table, and all the while, the woman was busy building airplanes from 9-5. Really made me think about the fact that I can barely keep my house clean with the help of a housekeeper and a full time nanny (who, I believe I've mentioned before, is my mom). Don't get me wrong - my father was the big-shot executive who I've desperately attempted to model my career after, and who has received many a phone call when I've been faced with a business or corporate situation that requires far more experience than I possess, and it's my dad who's bailed me out of more "dad, I'm so sorry, I had no idea my Bloomingdale's card had gotten so high" situations, and I owe the man everything about my golf game. But, the fact is, when it comes to keeping our house in line, my dad and I would agree, we owe it all to mom.
Bottom line I guess (and honestly not where I thought this blog was going), is that I realized this week, more than ever, is I am a successful, motivated, working mom, my husband and my daughter love me, and frankly, couldn't live without me. But... that fact pales in comparison to the fact that I was raised by Super Woman. I have big shoes to fill, and while I'm trying to get closer every day, I know that if I'm lucky, I will get close, but I'll never surpass my mom.
