Cheesemonger and Queen of Leather

When you raise your children, you have no idea who or how they are going to be as adults.  You hope, you wish, you wonder.  You try to stay present and love them for who they are, worrying about their challenges and weaknesses, praising them for their hard work and achievements.  But really, you just don’t know.

In my case, I sent my kids to great private schools, schools which allowed my bright young things to learn in their own styles but which I also knew were often feeder schools to, ultimately, great universities and careers.  I was a working mom, a hard-working executive who had the means for these great schools and the desire to give my kids the best chance.

My kids definitely marched to their own beats, with one to whom most everything came easily and one for whom obstacles were ever-present.  One thing was constant, though.  They each had passions, and my ex-husband and I were committed to feeding and nurturing their passions, regardless of what those passions were.   At the college level, neither was pursuing anything which looked like it could ever make a decent living, something I worried about – a lot.  But again, they were committed, passionate, and involved in their work.

Now, here I am, with two adult children each having been acclaimed publicly in the news.  My son was just awarded the winner in the 2015 Cheesemonger Invitational and written about in the Wall Street Journal.  My daughter has been proclaimed “the Queen of Mainstream Bondage” by the New York Times.  Cheese and leather, mongering and bondage, neither are exactly what I had in mind every year as I paid those hefty tuition bills. 

And yet I could not be more pleased.  It’s not the public acclaim that has me so happy, though that is certainly wonderful.  What I’m pleased about is that my kids have become adults who continue to pursue their passions and are figuring out every day how to build their lives around what they love.   Bravo Nick and Zana, following your dreams, making this mother proud.