Last week we celebrated my daughter’s 23rd birthday by taking her to her favorite restaurant, DC Vegan, just off DuPont Circle in the city. And tonight, she’s experimenting with coffee, preparing for an all-nighter as she studies for two finals tomorrow.
One week you are celebrating a milestone over birthday cake. The next, you are watching that same person push themselves toward the future they are trying to build … right now she’s obsessed with sustainable technology for the environment.
Later this week the whole family heads to Paris, France, where we will visit our son, who is living there now while in graduate school. He, too, is engaged with the environment, focusing in part on national ecological planning. I am looking forward to learning more about systems change in France while we are there… but, also to enjoy the city, my son, and my family. And Laura may find a place to sit in while we are there!
As the new week begins, consider that growth rarely arrives all at once. It unfolds through long nights, small acts, and the willingness to stay committed when things are demanding.
“I had always planned to make a large painting of the early spring, when the first leaves are at the bottom of the trees, and they seem to float in space in a wonderful way. But the arrival of spring can’t be done in one picture.”
– David Hockney
