Dawn Black referred to it as "a pivotal moment" in her political career and it happened in 1988 during a conversation with her husband Peter.
Black was mulling a federal run and asked Peter what he thought.
"Dawn, if I wanted to run for office, I would just expect you to support me. If you want to run, you can expect that support from me," said Peter.
And with that, Black embarked on a 25-year journey that culminated Thursday with her final speech to the provincial legislature in Victoria.
Peter's unwavering support culminated in him coming over early Thursday to watch his wife's final day in Victoria.
Black won three terms in Ottawa - in 1988, 2006 and 2008 - before deciding to give provincial politics a try in 2009. In all, Black would serve 12 years as a parliamentarian, spending the intervening years working in economic and social development all across the world, in addition to her many community endeavours in the Royal City.
What differentiates Black is that she tasted the bitterness of electoral defeat - in 1993 and 1997 to Paul Forseth - but came back to avenge that defeat in 2006 before tacking on another two wins to her electoral scorecard.
Through it all, Black exhibited a class and humility that has made her one of the most respected elected officials in the country.
Black won critical acclaim for her ability to get a private member's bill to declare Dec. 6 as a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women and she also fought hard for the rights of Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan.
Provincially, she was named interim leader of the NDP in 2011 as the party tried to overcome the mess of Carole James' leaving as party leader.
NDP caucus chair Shane Simpson lauded Black for her leadership during that incredibly tough time for the party.
"Dawn deserves a ton of credit for setting the right tone right from the start," said Simpson. "The focus was on moving forward and not dwelling on anything that had happened in the past."
That was especially hard for Black herself, as she counts James as one of her closest friends.
"Carole was why I decided to leave Ottawa," said Black. "I saw in her the woman who could be the first democratically elected woman premier and she asked me if I wanted to help her. It didn't happen, but we sure gave it our best shot."
After Adrian Dix won the leadership of the party - and Black announced in August 2011 that she would not seek re-election in May 2013 - she became one of the experienced veteran hands of the party, so much so that in October, 2011, she was named assistant deputy speaker.
In that prestigious position, Black is the lone Opposition member who spells off Speaker Bill Barisoff and Deputy Speaker Linda Reid in the big chair while debate occurs in the legislature.
"It certainly was an honour to do that job," said Black, "but I missed the cut and thrust of Question Period, that key time when we could keep the government accountable. When you're in the Speaker's chair, you have a different job."
Gary Lenz, the sergeant-at-arms for the provincial legislature, said working with Black has been a pleasure and the relative civility in the House during the past several sessions is due to the good work done by Barisoff, Reid and Black.
Dix also applauded Black's efforts during a recent NDP caucus event to celebrate the five retiring NDP MLAs.
Calling Black "remarkable and amazing", Dix said people only had to go to New Westminster to see how highly constituents thought of the work Black did for them.
In the true spirit of the underdog, Black's many years of service never included even one day of being in a government in power.
"I wouldn't trade anything for that shot at power," said Black. "I have absolutely no regrets about how my political career transpired.
"I think I'm pretty proud of the committee LA work that I did. I enjoyed going through the nuts and bolts of legislation, of holding the government accountable."
The closest Black came to power was in the autumn of 2008, when then-NDP leader Jack Layton tasked Black and Brian Topp with the job of trying to broker a coalition with the Liberals to topple the Stephen Harper Conservatives.
"We had almost everything in place and the Liberals blinked," said Topp, who Black supported in last year's federal NDP leadership race. "It was so close, but it didn't happen."
Topp has nothing but kind words for Black, saying her ability to bring people together, combined with her decency, is something government needs more of.
"Dawn is easy to work with, she listens and she always has great ideas," said Topp.
Black's naturally inquisitive nature meant she was receptive to all concerns.
Last Tuesday, she attended a luncheon put on by key representatives from the B.C. film industry who were hoping to get some support as they fight the loss of productions to tax-friendly Ontario and Louisiana.
"We used to have a lot of filming in the city," said Black, "and a lot of that has gone away.
"The film industry has already started lobbying us to see what we could do if we won power and that's something I wanted to hear."
Black's final days in Victoria also included many goodbye lunches and dinners with friends and colleagues. And while she once lived in an apartment not far from the legislature, she gave that up last year in anticipation of the short spring sitting. She's staying at a local hotel and for the four weeks the legislature sat, she came to Victoria on Sunday and returned to New Westminster on Thursday each week.
Black, who turns 70 next month, still has a lot of work to do in the next couple of months. She has to close her constituency office in New Westminster by mid-April, she will help NDP candidates during the election campaign running up to May 14, she's got an Alaskan cruise vacation for just after the election and an official going-away party is set for mid-June.
As for the future, Black has committed to working with the Broadbent Institute and has been offered several board opportunities for local organizations, but she's leaning toward taking a full calendar year off to spend time with family and travel.
"You'll still see me around the community," said Black. "I'll still be out with my grandkids, going to Salmonbellies games and spending money locally."
