To The Editor:

When I became a mother, I came to understand a particular sense of responsibility that is difficult to fully explain to someone who has not experienced having a child. It is not simply ambition, responsibility or courage, but a deeper understanding that your future is no longer yours alone. The choices you make and the future you work toward become inseparable from the future of your children.

I see that sense of responsibility in Amybeth Laroche. When she speaks about her daughter, her concerns are genuine and deeply personal, reflective of what it is to be a parent. When she expresses worry about what this state will look like ten years from now, I hear more than concern for her own future. I hear a mother wondering whether her daughter will be able to afford to build a life here, and whether Connecticut will offer the opportunities and quality of life that make it worth staying here for. Opportunities this state used to offer.

There is a meaningful difference between seeking a title and accepting a position with a genuine sense of responsibility for the people who will be affected by your decisions. It's not a role or stair step to another position for her. The future Amybeth hopes to build, extends beyond herself to the next generation. I believe Amybeth Laroche understands that responsibility, and I believe she is prepared to take it seriously for all those reasons, for all of us.

Alison Thomas

Newtown