3/25/04

This is my daughter Mandy. She's 17 years old, in beauty school and is one of the people that I love most in the world.

What's best for Mandy is normally what is most important to me and that makes my job really hard. I'm so proud of her and watching as she grows into a strong independent young woman is big pay off after all the effort I've put in over the years.

Of course like most kids at 17 she has her own agenda and often needs to be reminded to stay on track. Learning to let go and relinquish control, isn't going to be easy. Trusting that as she spreads her wings she'll be able to make the right decisions for herself is something I'm going to have to work on.

I am sure that most mothers struggle with this as their kids become teenagers and then young adults.

I love Mandy and feel that to be a better mother to her I need to shift some of my focus off of her and begin to focus more on myself and becoming a better me. That's where I'm at in my life right now, and ... I'm beginning to realize, the journey might not be as easy as it sounds.

I love these seagull pictures they were taken this past New Year's Day on Hillsboro Beach near where we live. We often spend New Year's Day together at the beach and I hope we always will. Have I ever mentioned how much I love living in South Florida?

*** Coy ***