It seems like I have known you forever.
And also like it’s only been days.
Our love is still fresh, but so rich and deep.

We feel in love so quick.
Many wondered if it would stick,
I never doubted us for a moment.

I knew that We had found it.
A love that was real and lasting.
So, we marched confidently into the future.

We are not where we thought we’d be.
But, that is completely ok.
I love who we are becoming.

It’s not an adventure if you know the path.
There is no one I would rather do it with.
You are my best friend.

I love it that I get to walk with you.
That you are my partner through it all.
I wouldn’t be me if it weren’t for you.

We are now two decades down this road.
There are wonders and indescribable beauties.
The best one of all my love, is you, the woman I love.

Verse 1 – Every day I smile waking up here next to you. I lie there and I stare, because I am so thankful for you.

You are asleep and you don’t know just how beautiful you are. Then again, it comes so natural to you. You shine just like a star. You shine just like a star.

Chorus – Baby I’m the lucky one. You have given your heart to me. We are decades down this road we are on and starts are all I see.

Verse 2 – I love the way you love me and how you take good care of me. I love the life we have made togehter in this home as a family.

We have seen good and bad days, and no it doesn’t change a thing. I’d choose you again and again for all my life. This is the song I sing. This is the song I sing.

Chorus – Baby I’m the lucky one. You have given your heart to me. We are decades down this road we are on and starts are all I see.

Tag – No I don’t know what the future will hold. Baby that is just fine by me. As long as I have you by my side, that is all I need.

Chorus – Baby I’m the lucky one. You have given your heart to me. We are decades down this road we are on and starts are all I see.

It have been working for a lot of years now. It is hard to believe that I got my first job 25 years ago. Was 1994 really that long ago? Man, it doesn’t seem like it. It seems like it was just yesterday and I was showing up to Taco Bell for the first time…to work there and not eat.

Do you remember your first job? When I was 16 I was a bit naive…granted we all were at that age. In being naive, I thought that the managers of the store would have their stuff together. I thought that Taco Bell would be a well run machine. After all, I liked the food, so what would be so hard about working there. Yeah, the shine wore off real fast.

I didn’t realize back in the day that when you go to work for a place, there is a fine line you walk between knowing what the end product is and really knowing how it is made. To this day I will not eat the bean burritos there. Or the tacos. Or…eat there at all. Part of it is because fast food really isn’t good for me. The other part? I know how the food was made back then…can anyone say boiled in a bag?

It was also the first time that I remember being stuck in a place that I couldn’t leave for a predetermined amount of time, doing things that I did not consider fun. I can look back now and see the lessons I was learning much clearer than I saw them then for sure. I don’t remember the manager’s name, but I do remember her as an abrasive, do it because I told you to type. These days I deal with people like that often and I know how to handle the interactions. Back then, I had no idea what to do.

I can also look back and see the obvious business lessons I was learning. I remember having to weigh the ingredients that went into the food. I don’t remember the manager ever telling me it was to control food cost and overall spend. I wouldn’t have understood those terms then anyway, but I sure do now. I also remember having a crash course in customer service. It was really hard then to be really nice to some people that would come to the counter. Let’s face it, Taco Bell on the late shift is a magnet for strangeness.

I am glad I had that job though. It only paid me 4.75 per hour, but it gave me a lot of pride in making my own money. I took pride in how I treated people. I tried to do my very best. These are things that I work tirelessly on now. Everything I learned back then is still very applicable today.

I am glad to have moved beyond making retried beans in a bag and burritos, but I do appreciate the memories and lessons it gave me. It was far from perfect, but it was a good first job.

He stood at the corner. The sign he held in his hands spoke volumes. Times were tough and money hard to come by. He hadn’t bathed in a week. Lord only knows where he had slept the evening before, if he had slept at all. Didn’t he have a home he could go to? What brought him to this corner? Where did he get the marker and the cardboard for his sign?

His tired shoulders slumped as the cars passed him by. The hunger pains racked his body, but not as bad as the despair did. Times had not always been like these. There had been another day, years before. Before the women. Before the booze. Before the needles. Before despair.

He lifted his face. The streetlight changed to red once again. Slowly he panned the cars for generosity. A window rolled down and he walked to the person seated in the car. Two dollars. That was better than most people did. He muttered a thank you as the car drove away.

The streets were wet from the rain of the day. His clothes were sticking to his body, but at least it was cooler than the normal heat of an August day. How had he sunk this far?

He had been comfortable once. He had lived in luxury. His father had a strict set of rules that he chose not to abide by though, and in anger, one day, he demanded his share of the inheritance and left. Never to look back. Never to be constricted by those rules again.

The thoughts of years passed flashed through his mind often as he watched the cars go by. Arrogant people passed by every minute. But he knew well that very few had been as arrogant as he. Thousands of dollars he had, all of it he squandered. In a short amount of time he had nothing.

Too ashamed to go home, he stayed where he was and tried to work to make his way. Habits die hard. Expensive habits die painfully. His life was now broken and, he thought, wasted.

There had to be a better life than this. The life of one of the workers in his father’s employ was so much better than what he was now doing. Even if he couldn’t return as a son, he would ask his father for a job. It had to be better than his life now.

So, he picked up his backpack containing everything he owned in the world. It was many miles back to his father’s house, but the journey was underway. It would take several days to make it back, but it had to be better. It just had to.

His legs were tired. His feet sore. He climbed the hill in front of him. His father’s house was down on the other side. It wasn’t much further. As he reached the top of the hill he paused for a moment to catch his breath. He looked down on the valley where he grew up. It was familiar, but he knew it would never be as it was. Never again would he take it all for granted, even though none of it was his.

He started walking down the hill. To his amazement, he saw a man running toward him. The man was older and well dressed. Why was he running? Who was this? It was…his father. His father was running to him. Immediately he felt fear, but that was soon gone as he realized his father was smiling…and crying.

With a swift embrace, the father took the son in his arms and pulled him close. The son’s clothes did not stop him. The smell of the man did not stop the father. The father’s son was home and he rejoiced and cried as he held him.

“Father, please forgive me for my stupidity. I have come back to ask you for a job. I don’t deserve to be your son, but I will gladly spend my life working for you to repay the cost I have been to you.”

“Son, I have waited for you. Every day since you have been gone I have searched this road for you. I believed in my heart you would return. Now you have. You are my son and you will always be my son. I love you. Nothing has ever changed that. You may work with me as we live our lives as family. Come, we must celebrate for you have come home.”

There are just some things that you never expect. I knew having a son was going to be cool, but I had no idea just how amazing it would really be. Yes. I am biased as any other partner, but even in the bias I am still loving every minute of this. I’d like to share a few things with you that makes being a daddy so good

My boy has the ability to make me laugh like no one else. If I have had a hard day I have to look no further than my favorite mini me. If I need to smile, he’s my guy. From corney jokes to character voices, he loves making me smile and he does it quite often.

He takes care of his mama. This one is an important one to me as I am crazy about my bride. He knows that mama is the queen of the house and he is so good to her. He is courteous and kind. How is thoughtful. He is an amazing helper. He goes out of his way to take care of his mama.

He is truly helpful. We spent this last weekend at my parents house helping them with projects. I had an assignment. Marixa had a list of stuff to do as well. What did he do? He found out what his grandpa needed and he got to work too. He has told us more than once that he likes to work and wants to do a good job. My heart swells with pride.

He is competitive. Whether it is board games or video games or a good game of corn hole, this boy likes to compete. He generally backs up his smack talk as well. We do have to put him in his place every so often, but I love watching him compete.

I could go on and on. Being this boys daddy is one of the greatest joys of my life. I am so thankful for him and I love him so much.

If you have one of your own, take a few minutes to remind them you love them today. They need to hear it.