I had lunch with a friend yesterday.

Now, before you go and start pegging me as a lady who lunches, I’ll just put it out there that I have done this roughly four times in my adult life. It’s partial anxiety, of course, that keeps me from reaching out to friends to make plans, but it’s mostly that evil word busy (I know we’re not allowed to use the word BUSY anymore) at work that keeps me from taking a break in the middle of the day. With every job I’ve had, there’s just so much work to be done that physically and mentally leaving the zone rarely happens. Once I’m in it, I’m in it.

But, yesterday, I had lunch with a friend. Pizza, if you must know.

And she mentioned that she thinks of me every time she makes pancakes. Because I’ve been known to (overuse) Kelly Ripa’s quote about pancakes. She compares children to pancakes and how, you know, how everyone sort of ruins the first one…but then by the second and third you get into a better rhythm and you sort of figure out the pancake-making thing.

{Maybe I should have had more kids}

I joke about this because I know that I messed up a lot with Emily. I was an infant myself when I had her (Think: Lorelai Gilmore) and passed on all many of my rigid and anxious tendencies to her.

But I don’t know. Maybe the universe had other plans for my first pancake.

Emily applied to be a camp counselor this summer, and gave work and character references.

“If any of my four daughters is anything like Emily at age 18, I will consider that a win.”

It’s not a direct quote, since I wasn’t in the room where it happened.

(go on, I’ll wait until you stop singing.)

(no seriously, it’s time to stop.)

I can tell you right now that even though I wasn’t there when Emily’s character reference shared this, I cried actual tears when I heard it.

Smart. Sassy. Stubborn. Hard-working. Smushy. Funny. Interesting. Determined. Sweet. Salty. Genuine. Generous. Curious. Feisty. Kind. Brave. Bold.

She’s better than anything I could have imagined when eighteen years ago today — on International Women’s Day — I was handed a tiny pink bundle of baby.