In this week’s column, I pondered the idea of encouraging our kids to do their best, while realizing that not everyone can BE the best…

Chances aren’t great that all of mine will be super-achievers, so how do I walk that line between encouraging them to meet their potential - whether it be artistic, academic or athletic - and accepting them for the people they turn out to be?

I don’t see any future Olympians in my home (yet), but they’ve definitely got their strong suits.If there were awards for death-defying jumps from the highest point in any room, Owen would have it in the bag. If we could give out medals for “most persistent arguer,” William would have the gold every time. Isaac never misses a detail; his brain quickly recognizes patterns in letters and numbers. And Jacob knows how to spin a story and get a whole room laughing; his creativity blows me away.