happy birthday mommy!

It was actually yesterday. I always miss family birthdays now that I’m on the east coast.  My dad is very good about sending me pictures though, almost in real time!

A picture of my mom in her med school days–wasn’t she a hottie 🙂

my family, circa 1990.

I am so thankful to have such great parents. I was talking to friends recently, and some of them mentioned that their parents hate for them to go to developing countries, and would flip if they tried to have careers outside of the family trade (science research / medicine).  My parents are definitely in the pro-med school camp as well, but they have always encouraged me to pursue my personal interests and goals first.  My father quivered visibly with excitement when I told them I was working at MGH freshman year, but they are just as happy and excited about my achievements in other fields now that it is quite clear that I am not heading down that path.  They are letting me to go the Philippines over spring break, instead of coming home (I haven’t been back to California for over six months!).  If  I can be half the mother to my children that my mother was to me, I will be satisfied.  As I get older, I fret more and more about how I will juggle personal life with my career. My parents are proof that it is possible to succeed in both.