AQ'S Corner

Photo Credit: AQ’s Corner

There are some Spring Breaks you vacation through, and then there are some Spring Breaks you grow through. This year, my daughter and I did the kind that doesn’t fit neatly into a photo album, but will live forever in our hearts, stitched between a published book, a seafood dinner, art, jump rope, and LLC paperwork.

My daughter perfected the nose and mouth for an art project that was challenging her.

Photo Credit: AQ’s Corner

She learned how to jump rope. Weeks of “I can’t” turned into “Mom, watch this”. In the middle of all the fun, the sidewalk chalk, the library trips, something unexpected happened: my daughter, who had sworn off seafood her whole life, decided to try fried fish and shrimp for the first time. We were blessed with a surprise seafood dinner opportunity, and just like that, the girl who once wrinkled her nose at the idea of the ocean’s bounty became a full-fledged fan. It was a tiny moment. A silly thing, maybe, to anyone looking from the outside. But for us, it was everything: proof that hearts open, palates change, and growth sneaks up when you least expect it.

And speaking of growth,

We didn’t just try new food this Spring Break, we officially launched a business.
We filed an LLC.
We pitched our book to libraries.

At the Women’s Small Business Center, I watched my 9-year-old daughter sit beside me, not as a tagalong, but as a real-deal business partner, notebook in hand, jotting down action items, giving me side-eyes during the LLC discussion. It was her handwritten reminder (“Mom, file the LLC!”) that nudged me over the finish line. And so, with her coaching and her confidence, I did it. Now we’re just waiting for the official LLC paperwork to come. I also prepared other protections for us and our business, with more to come. 

To close out the weekend, the night before returning to school, my daughter reread the book she co-authored, Emani and the CyberHero Response Team, and proudly added it to her reading log.

Together, we crossed bridges I didn’t even realize we’d been building all year long.
Bridges between childhood and business plans.
Between side-eyes and courage.
Between stubborn palates and the first bites of fried fish.
Between dreaming and doing.
Between talking about a future and holding it in our hands.

And this Spring Break, I realized that sometimes the person who keeps you moving forward isn’t a mentor or a coach, it’s a nine-year-old with a big heart, a bigger dream, and all the faith in the world, in you.