Like most parents, I am incredibly proud of my kids. But I wanted to take a moment to talk about my two older kids, Alexa and Caden. On social media, everyone always sees the results but they never see the journey.

These two probably went through the most in transitioning from San Antonio to Houston. Not only did they have to leave their family and friends, but they had to switch from a challenging AP curriculum at Keystone, to an IB curriculum at the international schools that I place them in downtown Houston. The commute proved to be more than our family could handle; unbeknownst to me the Houston traffic was unbearable and we were spending at least three hours in the car a day. So they both opted for a closer option. Alexa, for personal reasons, switched midway through her junior year. She had to go from AP to IB then back to AP. In some classes cramming 12 months' worth of work into 6 months in order to be prepared for the AP exams at the end of the year. At the same time, she was preparing for a very competitive state pageant, which she got extremely ill 2 weeks before and became septic. The doctors put her on a course of antibiotics and steroids, and she was good for the pageant, but became ill again afterward. The multiple courses of steroids caused a subsequent 30-pound weight gain over the next 6months. She struggled to get the uncomfortable weight off with an extreme diet and exercise regimen. At the same time trying to catch up and finish as close to the top of her class as possible. She was also preparing for SATs vigorously, taking every practice test available to her.

One thing I can say about Alexa is that she’s a hard worker. She’ll always be the hardest worker in the room. Despite having very little social life and studying constantly, she was selected for girls state, President’s advisory council and vice president of her senior class. Alexa then applied to 17 colleges. Most of them extremely challenging. Her acceptances included three of the best, most competent schools in the country, among others. Of those three she was awarded academic scholarships to all (Berkeley, UCLA & U Mich).

Caden also had a difficult transition, not just because of switching schools but he probably had the closest friendships in San Antonio. Leaving friends that were like brothers to him was difficult and I certainly felt the weight of that. But he also had to deal with his father traveling so much back-and-forth to San Antonio and Houston. Caden and Colton have always been very close to Steve and this sacrifice was very difficult for our family. It proved to be the right decision and Steve does not travel nearly as much as he used to, but it required sacrifice on their part. Just like his deployments to Iraq did.

Caden has always done really well academically but he had lost his luster his freshman year. He closed his business he had for several years and it was difficult to get him re-invigorated in something else. Fortunately, we were able to and he’s thriving again. I’ve always known that Caden is exceptionally bright with very little effort, but the thing I’ve noticed most is that he has the Midas touch...everything he touches turns to gold. His first time hunting he shot a buck, his first time deep-sea fishing he caught a Marlin, his first time bidding at an event he won a trip to Vegas...he is the type of kid you want to take with you to buy a lottery ticket. Haha. But we are not big advocates for gambling so he will have to figure out how to channel this gift in other ways.

So, all this to say, is that nothing is ever easy and nothing is as it appears. When parents sacrifice, children typically have to as well. Although we try our best to shield our children from our own personal struggles, sometimes making them privy to the fact that life isn’t always a walk in the park is good. They need to understand that there will be struggles, BUT as long as you have each other, and some faith in God, that’s all that truly matters.🙏❤️