Little Libraries and Cemeteries Are Keeping Me Busy

I’m really excited about the projects I’m working on right now. I’ve decided to make Little Libraries in Laundromats an actual non-profit organization. I want to make early education its mission.

I want to speak to parents at under-served HISD elementary schools about the School Choice program to encourage them to identify if their children are gifted in some way. I feel like there are so many gifted children in HISD who fall through the cracks because nobody takes an interest in them or because their parents don’t know how to navigate the system. Those of us that take advantage of the magnet program are parents who know about it and it can even be challenging for us. Imagine how challenging it can be for a parent with very little education or who only speaks Spanish?

I’m passionate about this cause because I attended an under-served elementary school and I was introduced to the magnet programs when I was in middle school when I attended Hamilton Middle School. After that I was in the IB program at Waltrip High School. My kids are also graduates of the Vanguard program and attended DeBakey High School, one of the top magnet schools in the city and the state.

I’m going to expand my library locations soon and I’m going to move into the Eastex/Jensen area. This is the area where I grew up and I want to collaborate with an artist in that neighborhood. There are other projects I want to work on in the community.

I’m also excited with the momentum that we’ve gained with the Historic McDaniel Street Cemetery and I’m so proud to sit on the board of the Westcott Cemetery Association as secretary. (I’ve blogged about it as the Westcott Cemetery) The Westcott Cemetery Association has made so much progress with this initiative. We had a very successful event at the cemetery on Saturday, April 10 and we announced that the Fondren Foundation has awarded us a $45,000 challenge grant. If you would like to donate to this cause there are ways to donate on our website.

I have plenty to keep me busy this next year and a half until Seth graduates. I feel like I’m building a foundation now for where I want to go in the future and this brings me satisfaction.

On the Cusp of Something Amazing

I’ve had an epiphany of sorts. I know I'm always writing about my weight, my health, working out, etc... I've also written about how I'm at this important point in my life. I’m only a few years from being an empty nester.

Once Seth is 18 and in college, the fall of 2022 I will be in a very different place in my life. I feel like once he’s an adult I can open myself up to more opportunities. 

So back to the epiphany. It was this. You know how we all say, “Oh if I could only go back to this certain age knowing what I know now?” For me it would be the age of 23, right after I graduated from college and starting my career. I may not be 23 years old, with that youthful look and good health, but I am about to be in a very similar situation when the kids are both adults. Except this time I have 51 years of life experience under my belt. 

Along with the experience, I’m also going in with a much more realistic expectation than I would have had at 23. At 23 I thought I had all the time in the world. I know now that time is fleeting.  

I’m excited to see what comes next because I feel like I am on the cusp of something amazing.