This journey all began on the opening day of Morgan’s Wonderland (www.morganswonderland.com). Morgan’s Wonderland is a 25-acre non-profit in San Antonio, Texas. It is the world’s first completely wheelchair-accessible theme park designed for individuals with special needs in mind. I found this park concept incredibly inspirational, and decided to volunteer to give back to the community on their opening day. I was amazed at the idea of this park, it really was A WONDERLAND! At the end of a fulfilling day, I stood at the entrance telling people goodbye. A young girl, strapped in a specialized wheel chair, looked up at me gleefully and asked “are you an angel from God, because this was the best day of my life!”.

That one comment made the entire day completely worth it. From that point on I knew I wanted to do something special for not only my grandchildren, but give back in a way that more children could feel just like that little girl did on that day

Growing up, I was told I was dyslexic. As a child of the 1970’s, dyslexia was one of the many things that was not well known at the time. Now, with modern day technology and science we understand a lot more about certain things humans are born with or develop, which are now treated accordingly. Decades ago, the education system did not understand what dyslexia truly was, so many attributed the condition with being “lazy, stupid or slow”. Due to the lack of awareness, I was pulled out of main stream classes and placed with the kids assigned to the trailers. My mother saw what occurred and was determined to instill everything I needed to overcome my situation. She sat me down and told me that the world was my oyster, and that I should dig deep to find my “superpowers”. She told me to look within myself to find the “courage, determination, strength and willingness” to help me tackle any adversity. If it were not for my mother’s determination and encouragement to do this, I don’t know where I would be today.

My junior year in high school, I was failing American History. I went directly to my teacher and posed a -proposition to earn extra credit by completing a report and creating an art piece. My teacher saw my tenacity to overcome this adversity and agreed to my proposal. This was a pivotal turning point for my way of thinking.

Then one Summer I discovered THE infamous Mad Magazine! This became a safe haven for my creativity to roam and allowed me to express myself in a way I never knew before. I was fascinated with the colorful comedic designs that were splashed all over this really cool magazine. It was like a creative lightbulb went off, and I was able to forget my learning disability through this newfound creative world. This would set the tone for my vision of the rest of my life. I began to look at this creative outlet as my “superpower”

When I turned 19, I decided to head on a mission trip with my church to assist individuals that were deaf and blind. I was so excited for this new experience, and learned sign language in order to enhance this shared experience with the group. This experience changed the way I communicated and gave me a whole new level of confidence I never had before. This experience encouraged my way of communicating with others, and enhanced my public speaking with a major boost of confidence. Then, I set out on my career taking these formidable experiences to tackle and take on the world. These “superpowers” I learned along the way, helped set the precedent for my successful future. I now run a successful Advertising Agency and have a family with 4 children and 4 grandchildren.

My upcoming book series, Mug’s and Puddles is inspired by my two granddaughters. This series is meant to help young girls to find their “superpowers”, just like my Mom taught me all those years ago. A few years ago, my daughter told my granddaughter, “You are my little princess!”. My granddaughter made a bold face turned and responded, “I AM NOT A PRINCESS, I AM A SUPERHERO!”. And that is how Mug’s & Puddles was born. My purpose in creating this series is to spark curiosity, develop confidence and encouragement in children to find their “superpowers” and plan for a life full of accomplishment.