I am sitting on my bed at the Hilton Inn in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the other bed is my daughter, Suzanne. We are on our way to Louisville to launch a year long Leadership Development Program for one of our corporate clients. We have written this program together. It is unique, filled with new ideas and challenges for the students. Along the way we had some bumpy conversations, and here we are one day away from lift off.
Last year, when Suzanne ran for McHenry County Board, I managed her campaign - she won, big. Somewhere in all this, we manage to squeeze in our mother/daughter relationship. Over these past many years our lives have veered closer in significant ways. I am conscious of her independent and brilliant nature (spoken like a mother), her quirky ways of pushing me towards the edge and yet, what a gift to work and partner with your child.
I have three other daughters, and whenever they invite me to partner with them, I dive into the invitation and our relationship is enriched. They are all talented, funny, driven women who are dedicated to their families, community and to themselves.
How blessed is this? To have your children, even after years of fumbling parenting, lean on you, respect you and love you. I love all of it, working with them as business women, loving them as children and watching them launch talented, community minded children into the world.
If we truly reap what we have sown, I want more of those early seeds to spread around the world.
I’m Lou Ness and that’s my perspective!
