The Power of One Picture

Sea Breezes Amazing, the power of a picture. I just sat looking at the above picture, and here comes this blog. Last weekend Katie and her gang came to visit. After they left, we collapsed from fatigue. That girl does that to me. She always has. She was born running and has never stopped. Her go go go is one of the things I love best about her. So this post is for you, Katie. You are beautiful. I think every mother secretly hopes to have at least one daughter. I only got one and also two beautiful boys. But as I said, this post is about Katie. A daughter is special to a mother because, after all, we mothers are daughters ourselves.We had a chance to make it better, or so we hoped. We swore our relationship with our own daughter would not have the conflicts we had with our own moms. And so we tried. But alas, the conflicts came, but so did the joys and the sorrows and the decisions. One day, my little girl became a young woman, a high school graduate, a college graduate and a fiance, and a wife, and a mother and heck, I had to sit down and rethink the whole mother daughter thing all over again. She is having way too much fun being a mother. Did I have that much fun mothering her? As I look back, she was a handful. She was such a bright kid, diligent in her studies and overachieving on everything she did. She was popular, a top swimmer, and lovely dancer. She was a cheerleader and HOMECOMING QUEEN. She was a leader and nominated to every committee for community service and church activities she could be. And to boot, she had great hair and a fabulous shape. Where did this kid come from? She really was the perfect child in every way. Oh yes, we had our battles. She was the spiciest kid in our home, full of attitude and drama. We used to say we felt her breeze go by. One Saturday morning she came in complaining of boredom, and she had already done three activities. She has always had an uncanny decorating and style sense. She has compassion for people and animals. She has been on mission trips to Europe. One not so long ago morning, she called me from Poland, afraid to go into the concentration camp. "Should I, Mom?" she asked. "Go", I advised. "You may never get another chance." She called the next day, glad she took my advice and had a life-changing experience. She has made new, dear friends in all our many moves. She is an advisor and confidant to her friends and colleagues. She is a master teacher who genuinely cares for her students. She is the mother I tried to be to her and more. She is having more fun mothering. She doesn't analyze each moment in her life like I do. She just does it. She is decisive, yet unpredictable. She wears her self confidence like a beautifully tailored suit. Katie is beautiful. I shot this picture of her and Greg at the beach last weekend. The more I looked at how beautiful this only daughter of mine is, the more I started on this thought process for this blog. Katie married a man who loves her beyond himself. She has two children who couldn't be any cuter or perfect. Her faith in God is strong and growing. My daughter is my best friend. I think she has many best friends, but I hope she counts me as her best 59 year old friend. Katie Susan Sartin Olliff-Happy early birthday sentiments from a sentimental Mom. Amazing, the power of one picture.