Meg and Beck are my life. We have a wonderful family and together we follow my grandmother's rule 18 - too blessed to be stressed. If you must know, our first date was at Cracker Barrell, and shows what an old soul I really am. At that dinner Meg told me to be brave, which is became Rule #2. Meg is a tenure-track assistant professor in Texas A&M's Health and Kinesiology Department. She is an awesome researcher and viral professor! She uses social network analysis to study how connections fuel our world. And Beck is soon-to-be four and has an incredibly sweet heart. He runs super fast, gives the best kisses, and truly seems to love other people. We love him so much. From my view, being a parent is most definitely an educational journey!

Outdoors. Competition. Integrity. Social-distancing! There is not better sport than golf. It is the only sport you can play (and be semi-competitive) across multiple generations. I have many fond memories playing with my grandfather Jimbo, my dad, and my brother. Playing on my high school golf team certainly contributed to the little identity I had in high school! In fact, I skipped class the first week of Baylor to attempt to walk-on to the golf team. I missed it by two shots. For me golf is all approaching the sport as a game, not a job. I am fortunate to have my 'golfing buddies'. Golf also teaches so much about life -- sometimes a perfectly struck shot bounces in the water and other times a long putt drops in by more luck than skill. Walking on a golf course is a way I recharge.

Reading has long been enjoyable to me because I can learn or dream with a book. I've read many of the classics, self-help/leadership, but my favorite books hands-down are by Louis L'Amour. He is described as writing historical fiction because of his deep background into historical archives or he actually wandered the land he wrote about. In short, my imagination is captured and transformed into what I read. Most of his books are westerns although he has written across many other settings. These books are filled with adventure and intrigue, strong male and female characters of all creed and race, and center around hardships that forge authentic traits like honesty, resilience, and friendship. I returned to these books during the hardship of COVID-19.