For one reason or another it seems like elevators often become the focal points of many conventions that I attend.

This past week, three out of five family members attended the 81^st Annual South Texas Press Association Convention in Corpus Christi – myself, my wife, and our two-year-old son.

His older sister has always loved elevators and hotels.

From day one, she has always embraced the adventure of entering a magical shiny closet that would whisk us skyward to our hotel room, and then also whisk us downward to the lobby, or swimming pool, for instance.

But I have learned that not all children are alike – even those who share the same set of parents.

Our boy is more… cautious… than his older sister in certain situations.

Not all situations, mind you.

He won’t hesitate to crawl up on the edge of a chair and teeter on the edge of certain calamity if he has his eye on something he wants.

However, there are some situations in which he will "freak out" if the circumstances are just right.

So when we arrived at the hotel and it was time to take his first elevator ride, he showed some trepidation.

"You don’t really expect me to go in that thing," the look on his face told me. "I mean, did you just see those doors slide open all by themselves?"

Not wanting to walk up 20 flights of stairs with a two-year-old and an estimated 173 pounds of luggage, we opted instead to drag him into the elevator, kicking and screaming, much to the displeasure of our fellow passengers.

Our next ride was a little less traumatic, and the one after that, even less so, until gradually he became accustomed to riding these magic closets and he even began to enjoy pressing the buttons – although, perhaps a little too much.

By the end of the convention, he was pulling me into the elevator and I have to say that I was proud of him.

With a little help, he faced his fear, and he conquered it!

We were not as successful when we tried to get him to go into the swimming pool, however.

We did our best to coax him into the water, but I guess it was just so much bigger than the bathtub at home that he just decided to "pass" on this particular watery adventure.

We decided we will try again next time when we attend the Texas Press Association convention in Arlington this summer.

Perhaps if his sister is with us, he will see her having fun and he will want to join in.

I’ll keep you updated.