She Persisted

For Olivia’s birthday I got her a copy of She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, a new book by Chelsea Clinton. 

I wrote her a little note inside telling her how much I love her and how I believe she will grow up and change the world.  Much to my delight, she LOVED the book and frequently chooses it for a bedtime story.  So when I heard Chelsea was coming to Houston to promote her newest book - She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History, I made sure to get us tickets for the event.

It was honestly one of the best nights we have ever had – one of those rare nights where everything just falls into place.  I was a little worried because she had ballet class before that and usually comes home hungry and exhausted.  But, that didn’t happen.  Instead she bounded through the door, huge smile on her face, ran upstairs to change and came down 2 minutes later ready to go!

When we pulled up to the bookstore, the line was wrapped around the block.  I got a little worried but we checked in, got our tickets and waited.  Thankfully, the event was super well-organized and the line moved quickly.  We spent the time waiting reading our new book.  By the time we got up to the front, Olivia was in full on “fan girl” mode to meet Chelsea - she was squeezing my hand, grinning from ear to ear, and quietly squealing.   

And, for her part, Chelsea could not have been kinder or more gracious.  She took the time to ask Olivia a few questions and let Olivia ask her some.

After that, we went to grab a late dinner.  It was some of the sweetest time with my daughter that I’ve ever had.  She was super lovey and snuggly; she sat next to me in the booth and repeatedly hugged and kissed me and told me how much she loved me.  I don’t know if she was exhausted from the day or on an adrenaline high, but I’ll take it all day long.  We talked about being a girl and what that means to her, and how being a girl has affected me and my life/career.  We talked about being a mommy and balancing work and home.  She was thoughtful and hopeful in her questions and comments.

At this very difficult time in our country, I worry about my kids and what the future looks like for them.  Olivia has picked up on some of those worries and feels them too.  But, what I told Olivia at the end of the night is that we have to be optimistic.  We talked about the fact that so many people believe the same things we do - in our family we know we can always talk to Grandpa and Aunt Yasmin, and so many of our closest friends are raising their children to be kind, responsible, generous and smart.  We talked about the students from Parkland who are still kids themselves but are taking on some of the most difficult issues in this country with poise, determination and bravery.  We discussed how change is slow, but that when good people fight for a noble cause, they usually win.  I promised her that daddy and I would keep fighting and working and asked her if she would too.  She agreed and we ended the night by concluding that we think everything is going to be okay.  (It just has to!)