My daughter recently left on a trip I did not want her to take, but being 18 I could not stop her. Before she left , we had bought a Norah Jones CD and on the back was a sort of dark moody portrait that my daughter loved and she asked me to work on one of her while I was gone. This really flattered me as she hates to have her picture taken and I really wanted to please her and give her something to hang on her dorm wall this Fall. As I was painting this in Photoshop I began to realize the face was as much my own as it was hers. I started thinking about what I was like at 18 and I had taken off to the outta Banks of NC and lived there a year , not knowing a soul there. I thought about how smart and capable my daughter is and as I painted I began to trust her more and worry less. I somehow just knew that she would be okay and would make it home without mishap. When she came home tonight , the first thing she said was “God, I missed you so much, you don’t even know” and then she said “You know , we are so much alike you and I”.. and I felt she and I had both grown and …indeed became more of one another while accepting that she is very much her own person. She loves the portrait! and I love that she loves it! I am blessed.. (like most art and life, I am not sure I am finished with this)