Integrating Faith, Family and Career: Reflections on My Fayette Woman Cover Feature

It is hard to believe that fourteen years have passed since I was featured on the cover of the August 2012 Back to School issue of Fayette Woman. At that time, I shared the intimate details of my journey, which was the delicate, often exhausting dance of balancing life as an educator, an entrepreneur, and a single parent. Looking back from the vantage point of August 2026, those years feel like a lifetime ago, yet the memories of that season remain so vivid.

Today, my heart is filled with an overwhelming sense of pride. The young boys I was raising then are now independent men, successful in their own right and truly remarkable assets to society. Seeing the men they have become is the greatest reward I could have ever asked for.

The decisions I made during those challenging yet rewarding years (choosing to integrate my career and family rather than sacrifice one for the other) were not always easy, but they were absolutely worth it. For example, I enrolled my sons in Georgia Cyber Academy, a home-based public school. This choice not only provided the flexibility for them to travel with me for speaking engagements but also allowed them to engage with a broader, statewide peer network and access more challenging academic opportunities. Many in my life criticized this decision, even though the program offered multiple weekly opportunities for in-person connections with teachers and field trips with enrolled families across Georgia and neighboring states. Eventually, several of my friends and associates followed this same path for their own children.

Since the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, virtual schooling has become much more of a norm. Looking back, I am deeply pleased with the path I chose and the foundation we built together. It serves as a powerful reminder that the seeds we sow in seasons of struggle eventually bloom into beautiful outcomes.

In 2018, Fayette Woman featured updates from August cover girls through the years.

If I could offer one piece of advice to mothers of young children today, it would be this: Children are only young for a few short years. YOU have the power to tailor your career aspirations and activities based on each stage of their lives. Be present by actively showing up in their daily lives, physically, socially, and emotionally. It won't be long before they CHOOSE to be independent and require less of you and from you. Take parenting seriously! You only get ONE good shot to get it right!

If you’d like to read or revisit my cover story, you can find the feature here: August 2012 Fayette Woman Feature.

God has been, and continues to be, extraordinary in the lives of my family! 

How are YOU prioritizing your faith, family and career? I'd love to read your reflections in the comments.