I should tell you that I’m generally not very good at tooting my own horn.  I tend to avoid the spotlight, downplay my accomplishments, and brush off compliments.

Having written all that, I’m trying to change that part of my personality.  To accept compliments with a sincere “thank you,” and to be proud of what I’ve done.

So on that note, I’d like to share with my readers something I’m proud of.  The Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension has written a brief “Success Story” about me!  Click here to read it.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s recent birthday, I wanted to share a story.  The other night at dinner, my son was telling us that some of his classmates were talking about how much they dislike our President-Elect.  They dislike him so much they “hate” him, and they want to “punch him in the face.” 

My son told his classmates that they needed to do what Dr. King said — fight with their words and not their bodies.

I sat across from my son and felt my eyes fill with tears.

My son had said that.  Out loud to his classmates.  He didn’t just think it, but he said it.  It made me so very proud of him — his character, his values.  And it made me proud of our family.

Hope, and proof, that the dream lives on.

“When two people get married, does it only have to be a man and a woman?  Or can it be two men?  Or two women?”

That was the question my son asked me, and that’s the beginning of a personal essay that was recently published at MomsLA.com.

You can read the complete essay here.

On Sunday, we started the New Year with a family adventure — my eight-year-old son went on his first Ferris Wheel ride.  And not just any Ferris Wheel, but the world’s only solar-powered Ferris Wheel.  Standing in line, waiting to board, our son began to get nervous.  “Will it go fast?”  “Is it relaxing?”  he asked us. 

He told us he was getting nervous but that he still wanted to try.  And that’s what made me most proud.  My son didn’t walk away.  He didn’t change his mind about going on the ride.  We did it, as a family.  And, he loved it!

I tried not to make too big of a deal about it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how this one outing really set the tone for what I hope will be a great 2017.  Trying new things, having family adventures, being brave, and not letting fear or worry keep us from doing what we want to do.