Chapter 19. Supporting My Kids: Why Education Is So Important to Me
As habitual travelers, I've always encouraged my kids to invite a friend along on our vacations. It proves fun for them and at the same time opens a door for me to get to know their classmates—the very people occupying and influencing their fast-changing worlds.
One of our frequent travel companions is Matt's good friend, Kurt Young; having joined us on roughly seven vacations, he is practically part of the family. In the process of getting to know Kurt, I've also had the privilege of meeting his mother, Bobbie. Over time we've developed a great friendship, and she's earned my respect for not only being a terrific mother to Kurt and his three siblings, but also for the incredible tenacity she displays in life.
Bobbie is a neonatal nurse at the OSU Medical Center where she works third shift to support her family as a single mother. Life has taught her, as it has me, that education is the key to securing meaningful work and a measure of fulfillment later in life. So I was able to laugh on the day she called me with this story—knowing that neither Kurt nor Matt would get away with such presumptuous thinking with us as their mothers—regardless of the fact that they were just seven years old at the time.
Both Bobbie and I were enduring a season of academic struggle for our boys. Perhaps it was the weather or the distraction of sports or girls; but whatever it was happened to be sinking them faster than they could kick their ...
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