The photo not taken

We went into Seattle yesterday to attend our older daughter's graduation from video game school.  So why, you might ask, am I showing this lovely abstract of Seattle's Great Wheel when I could be displaying a photo of her giving her valedictory speech, or of the charming silver dragon character she created?

Because I forgot to bring my camera.  I have LOTS of pictures taken with my iphone, but it's an iphone 3, so the calibre of those images leaves MUCH to be desired.  And I forgot to charge it last night, so even if they were good I have no way of knowing, as the battery is dead.

Sigh.  No-one's perfect, I guess.  But with no decent camera to distract me I was able to really drink in the details of the occasion.  The speeches were brief and delightful (especially our daughter's), the students and faculty were fun to meet and clearly felt like family to her, and she -- in the spectacularly flattering rose, orange and yellow wig she wore for the occasion (!) -- was positively radiant: the most beautiful and happy I've seen her since she was a small child.

So I found myself re-reading Emerson's essay on Spiritual Laws this morning, and found this: "Every man has this call of the power to do something unique... By doing his own work he unfolds himself." It was truly lovely to see that she has finally found and pursued her passion, and that in doing so she is becoming so much more fully herself. We should all be so fortunate!