An entry in my Zoe journal

"Entry: 15 August 2004

The second week of august is about to end. It leaves me with many thoughts. Maybe because so many things took place and I didn’t have the energy to list them all down as they happened. I read somewhere it’s important to capture all the important things that happen to you, no matter how small the event, as long as it meant something to you. It’s a habit I have to develop. I record them in my mind then, as is expected, forget. And the moment is gone forever.

But I remember many things in this second week of august. I remember my heart skipping a beat when I saw all my 5 and Up babies gather for lunch at Italliani’s in a send-off for Oly. She’s leaving next week for college in Boston. It was a bright sunny day, but it was a cool day. I remember the large, clear glass windows and the light washing through them. I remember the happy chatter and just color, color, color and smile, smiles, smiles and lots of laughter. I remember the hugs and I remember how they all looked. And I felt as if they were my own kids.

There was an overpowering sense of peace and love and I left them that way, to hurry off to school. It was sad leaving them, but I would rather leave that way, with the image of them all together and that overflowing feeling of contentment in me. I was walking in the sunshine with a smile on my face.

I remember lunch with Oly on a Tuesday at Café Breton in Podium. We talked about being excited to leave, about what she’d like to do after college, about what course she’d want to major in. I listened with pride as she talked about how she got into INTARMED, how she’s going to settle in alone. How lucky that Enrique is just a bus ride away.

I was amazed at how much there was in this little package of a girl—because she still very much looks like a little girl. But she’s so independent and so open and grounded. She’s awesome. She knows she has everything, but she also knows she can lose it all, so she takes good care of herself and her future. But she doesn’t keep herself on one path. She sees the horizon, the whole expanse of it and she knows there’s something for her out there, she just doesn’t know what it is now. She knows time will help her see it, and she will be able to decide. She may not know what she wants now, but she knows she’ll be able to get whatever it is when the time comes. That makes her such a hero in my eyes.

She’s my idol."