Irene was born and raised in Donna, Texas. Her first and home language is Spanish, but she never learned Spanish in school settings. In fact, she was punished for speaking Spanish in school. Nevertheless, she kept Spanish alive at home and frequently used it in work settings. She spoke to her four children in English, Spanish, and Spanglish. All four children have varying levels of proficiency in Spanish. Today, her Language Preservation Parenting journey includes keeping her family connected through delicious Mexican meals, speaking exclusively in Spanish to her two Mexican-American-Danish grandchildren, and speaking Spanglish to her three Houston-based grandchildren.