Family traditions - February ski trip

Me and the girls at the Waffle Cabin (Okemo Mountain).

For the 3rd year in a row, the Kwon-Cho, Pak-Kim and Woo-Kyung families rented a house in VT to enjoy a few days of skiing and fun.  When Ebi was just 2.5 years old the first time we took the girls skiing, I didn't ski.  Lauren did her private lessons while I stayed with E and basically played with her in the snow.  She had her full gear - boots, skis, helmet, etc. but I felt it was too early for lessons.  That year, I pushed her up a teeny tiny hill myself and she slid down cautiously. 

Last year, Elizabeth received her first set of lessons and did pretty well.  Still, she struggled to make it through the full hour of instruction, magic carpets and pizzas.  This ski season was completely different.  When we took Elizabeth out on the mountain in December at Mountain Creek, she willingly went with her instructor and easily made it through the hour lesson time.  My goodness...she even looked like she was having fun!  Though she took the lift with her instructor, she didn't have the confidence to take it with us.  Fast forward two months, and again, it was a totally different experience than the last.  This year, we tried Okemo for the first time.  Elizabeth had two days of excellent instruction and on both days, she took the lift with us!  I had a moment on the lift where I looked at both my big girls and thought to myself how much they have grown.  Our family of four was on the same lift skiing together.  It brought me so much joy.  Here are three videos of Elizabeth skiing - lesson, lift with Tae and cruising.

Speaking of how much they have grown...on the last night, both Lauren and Elizabeth even slept in the bunk room with Katie, Matthew and Gavin.  Lauren wanted to sleep in the top bunk so badly that she was working really hard the first two nights to prove to me that she was ready.  Elizabeth of course wanted to stay with Lauren.  About an hour after tucking them in, I went downstairs to check up on them.  Lauren was in deep sleep snoring softly :-) and my Elizabeth was also in deep sleep with her lovies.  They were such good girls on this trip.  I was very proud of them.

One more point of reflection...Lucie, Chris and I - as mothers - are the heart of our families.  We, like every mother, want the best for our children.  We make sure they are warm, have full bellies and smiles on their faces.  For me, I know and truly appreciate the fact that life is made up of small moments here and there.  This annual ski trip has become one of those cherished moments.  I am so grateful for my family and friends always, but especially coming off this trip to Okemo, I wanted to recall specifically how much Lu and Chris are such an important part of this journey that is life. 

Excited to ski!

Ebi coming down the mountain with her dad.

Skiing with my Lauren.

A little bit of heaven in VT.

My girls.

This is what 5 hours of skiing did to Ebi...she passed out on an ottoman!

Kwon-Cho, Pak-Kim and Woo-Kyung children in the house...

Going home.

Sleeping with her mouth open just like mom.  :-)

The stakes are getting higher

Just wanted to document (though I'm sure I'll never forget the experience) the journey of putting together my first AMG Client Council meeting on January 22, 2014 in Seattle.  It was a meeting with 7 marketing executives centered around innovation, out-of-the-box partnership ideas and relationship building.  I owned the meeting end to end - aligning internally, setting the agenda, working w/ partner teams to produce content and following up afterwards.  I got a lot of positive feedback from both clients and internal stakeholders.  I worked so hard (put in hundreds of hours, revised, reiterated and changed things up until the last second, lost sleep...!) and it feels so amazing to receive this acknowledgement.  I learned a lot and truly believe I grew tremendously with this experience.  Here is some verbatim feedback I received.  Names withheld to maintain anonymity...but I'll always remember who took the time to send me these amazing words.

• “…you did such a great job today!!!”
• “Thanks again for doing such a fantastic job.  You nailed it.”
• “you've done a great job pulling this together. I know that there have been a lot of moving pieces and org changes that complicated this, and just wanted to let you know I've noticed how on top of it you've been. Just a quick shout out. :)”
• “great job this week.  I can’t wait to see your notes and I am being serious!!!”
• “Hi Jeong, were you happy with the Council?  Heard great things!”
• “Really nice work on this.”

For me, a high-stake meeting like this is like a planning a wedding.  You plan and plan and plan, stress, coordinate, rely on others and do everything you can to plan your idea of a perfect day.  But when it's showtime, it's showtime.  You have to stop, step away and let the show go on.  Yes, people will comment about what a beautiful wedding it was, how much fun people had and how the food was delicious.  But the true measure of a successful wedding is the success of the marriage that follows.  So though this meeting was considered a success, I am maintaining my high bar for success and ensuring this has my mark for as long as I own this.

 

News of success travel fast.  All of a sudden, I am being invited to more meetings with more senior people and more opportunity.  It is becoming crystal clear that the stakes are getting higher.  More visibility.  More expectation.  It is very stressful at the moment and some days are harder than others.  I often dread the journey but when it's over I am on this incredible high.  I know one of these days, I will retire from corporate America and these moments will be a distant memory.  For now, I'm trying to remember to have fun, do my best and let the show go on.  At the end of the day, I am so proud of myself and so grateful for my mother, husband and daughters for allowing and enabling me to live this extraordinary life where I can focus on both my career and my family.  Thank you!

 

And how lucky am I to be working for such an extraordinary company like Amazon.com?  4th quarter results were announced last week and the stock price jumped to over $400 a share!