Don’t mess with Texas. Especially when it comes to our children, our health and our money.

Texas voters sent that message loud and clear Tuesday, ending decades of Republican dominance in statewide politics by electing Gina Hinojosa as the state’s first Latina governor, unseating longtime Gov. Greg Abbott, and sending James Talarico to the U.S. Senate after his victory over Republican Ken Paxton.

But for me, this election was never just about red or blue, Democrats or Republicans, or even Donald Trump. It was about survival, stability and the cost of being an ordinary Texan.

Somewhere along the way, I found myself standing in the grocery store with a calculator, deciding whether I could afford milk and orange juice in the same trip.

I hadn’t made those kinds of decisions since I was a young mother. Fifteen years later, after working hard to build a better life, I was back in that aisle doing the same math.

My cousin in Georgia, where Keisha Lance Bottoms made history as the nation’s first Black woman elected governor, told me he was witnessing the same thing: shoppers pulling out calculators to balance increasingly difficult grocery budgets.

As a Black woman and mother, I sometimes feel like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my back. I have two children in college, a household to maintain and responsibilities that don’t disappear when prices rise.

And then there’s the cherished roof over my head.

Eight years ago, I was blessed to begin financing what I believed would be my forever home. I love it. I have no intention of leaving. Yet rising homeowners’ insurance premiums and property taxes keep pushing my monthly mortgage payment higher.

And don’t even get me started on electricity bills! As a menopausal woman living in hot, humid Texas, air conditioning is one expense I’m simply not willing to negotiate.

As if all that weren’t enough, I’m also fighting for my health.

I have Type 2 diabetes, and I’m working hard to reverse it. That means having access to nutritious, affordable food, not simply whatever is cheapest on the grocery shelf.

But even healthy eating has become another financial calculation.

A recently published Episcopal Health Foundation poll reported by Houston Community Media found that 61% of Texas adults surveyed skipped or postponed health care because of cost. Even more troubling, 57% of households affected by diabetes or prediabetes reported being unable to afford balanced meals.

How are people supposed to improve their health when they can’t afford the food or medical care needed to do it?

Meanwhile, I’m watching billionaires like Elon Musk wield enormous political influence.

I don’t play the stock market. I don’t drive a Tesla. And frankly, Musk’s political shenanigans weren’t on my everyday list of things I was willing to entertain.

I have more immediate concerns.

Like gasoline.

Texas is a big state, and Houston is a sprawling city. We drive everywhere. When filling the tank becomes a financial burden, even ordinary family activities become difficult.

So miss me with the speeches about waiting for relief.

Our bills are due now.

Immigration enforcement has added another economic strain.

As American Community Media previously reported, more than 400,500 immigrant workers help sustain Texas’ $102.6 billion food economy. At a Houston forum, a Texas Restaurant Association representative cited surveys showing that 56% of restaurants reported significant losses amid immigration-enforcement disruptions.

Workers afraid to report to work. Customers afraid to leave home. Restaurant owners struggling to stay open.

Regardless of where someone stands on immigration enforcement, those disruptions affect livelihoods, local businesses and the Texas economy.

And if there’s one thing I take as seriously as my family’s finances, it’s our children’s future.

I want the Houston Independent School District and every Texas public school to have the resources, teachers and programs students deserve, without children becoming casualties of political battles.

Earlier this year, Houston Community Media’s three-part “Who Cares About Youth?” series explored those concerns with state Reps. Gene Wu, Jolanda Jones and Penny Morales Shaw.

The lawmakers raised issues ranging from school funding and student mental health to critical thinking, family stability and early intervention.

Morales Shaw emphasized that supporting children also means supporting the families and communities surrounding them. It’s a connection I understand all too well.

Across Texas, debates over school funding, accountability and the state’s education policies have placed additional attention on the Texas Education Agency.

Governor-elect Hinojosa has already made one promise unmistakably clear.

“On day one, I will fire Mike Morath,” she declared in her election-night victory remarks.

The Texas education commissioner has been a central figure in the state’s school accountability and intervention policies. Hinojosa has criticized his leadership and pledged changes to the state’s approach to public education.

Whoever leads the agency next, my expectation is simple: Put our children first.

November 3 sent political shockwaves across the country as Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and Senate.

But whether we’re elephants or donkeys, election victories won’t magically lower my mortgage payment, put healthy food on my table or fix what’s broken in our schools.

That requires action from the people we elected to deliver on their campaign promises.

Singer John Legend captured the uncertainty of everyday life in Ordinary People, reminding us that sometimes we “don’t know which way to go.”

His song also suggests taking things slowly.

But what happens when ordinary people can no longer afford to wait?

We deserve more than promises to hold on while the cost of living keeps climbing.

And don’t get it twisted. I don’t begrudge anyone their wealth. I’m a hardworking woman who simply wants the opportunity to protect what I’ve earned, care for my health, educate my children and grow old in the home I love.

I want our elected leaders, regardless of party, to understand that those aren’t extravagant demands.

They’re the foundations of a decent life.

Don’t mess with our children, our health or our money.

And as the election results showed: Don’t mess with Texas. Not anymore.