Our oldest daughter, Emily, was in town this weekend for a friend's wedding. She met Austin and I for lunch yesterday. It was so wonderful to see her and hear about her new job and what is going on in her life. She is such a smart, driven, and good person. I was so thrilled to just sit and look at her as I listened to all the goings on in her life. I miss her so much.

We don't look anything alike and our opinions have seldom matched up. I think there is no relationship more complex than the mother-daughter relationship. It's fraught with land mines. We've stepped into many of them and we both carry the scars to prove it. But being a daughter and having daughters I have learned that it's okay to be different from one another. We are not clones of our mothers, nor should we be. But the main thing that I have learned that my daughters don't know yet is that the love I feel for them is bigger than any differences we might have. It covers every disagreement, feeling of betrayal, and difference of opinion. I simply could not choose not to love them.

So, to my beautiful daughter Emily, thank you for having lunch with me. Thank you for sharing your news with me. Thank you for putting up with the mother you were dealt. I love you more than you could ever imagine.