A Long Time Ago...

Let's start at the beginning shall we? I was born to an amazing couple. As the oldest of three, I had the luxury, and the hassle (at times) of going through many of the challenges that face parents for the first time. Looking back, as I am now a father myself, I understand the pressures that come from raising children. I don't really remember much before we moved into the home I grew up in. I remember standing at the fence of our neighbors home and talking to the neighbor kid who was close to my age. Our home was awesome. It wasn't new, it needed work, and didn't have a landscaped yard. I remember playing while my parents worked to clear out the weeds, rocks, and garbage that was in what would become our back yard. From that work, a patch of heaven was created. What used to be weeds and junk, became many things to me throughout my youth. A baseball diamond where I pretended I was Roy Hobbs from "The Natural". I can't count how many times I hit the game winning home run into the stadium lights, running through the sparks as they rained down upon me. I was Joe Montana thousands of times as I lead the 49'ers to many super bowls. In winter time, I was Luke Skywalker on the frozen tundra's of Hoth. My dad and I would throw the baseball, football, shoot hoops, wrestle, fly paper airplanes, and many other cherished memories that shaped the man I am today.

I mentioned that I was the oldest of three kids. We were all close in age, and had a pretty close relationship. Admittedly, I grew closest to my sister. I've often wondered what I could have done to be a better brother and example, especially to my little brother. In my perception, he hasn't been the biggest fan of me. I'm not sure if that's real, or just me being a crazy weirdo, but I've always felt bad that we haven't been super close. I love him with all my heart, and always have and will. I just wish I could get closer to him, and I'm trying to figure out how to do that.

We all had 'sleepovers' in each other's rooms. We made up dances to perform for our parents. We loved going to any function that brought us to our grandma's houses and with our cousins. We fought, yelled, slammed doors, hugged, laughed, and cried together. It truly was the best childhood. This was a result of being close in age to my siblings, but mostly because my parents fostered an environment that we could become, and remain close.

I've always been a very creative kid with a wild imagination. It was no chore for me to make any little activity into any fantasy situation. Think Ralphie from "A Christmas Story". I have always loved Star Wars. I can't tell you why I did, or when it began, but it has always been there. My parents love to tell the story of them calling me to come home from playing and I wouldn't answer or come home until they called me Luke. Again, I was able and encouraged to pretend. To make believe. To create things in my mind. My parents went along with my silliness, and called me by whatever character I said I was on any given day. I loved that they would play along, and would humor me as I told my tales.

My parents were never too busy for us. They took time to spend with us whenever we wanted or needed it. We weren't well off when I was young. I never felt poor, but I now realize just how tough it probably was for them. We never went hungry. We always had food. On top of that, they found ways for us to be able to do kid things. T-ball, soccer, music lessons, and a huge part of my life, basketball. Those things aren't cheap, but if we ever wanted to do something like that, we were never told that it cost too much money or anything like that. In all, my parents taught me that we were important. I have learned that putting others first is always the best practice. There is no way that I could ever express the gratitude I have for the foundation my parents laid for me. Upon this foundation of fostering unity, teaching hard work, sacrificing time, and nurturing imagination, I would learn many valuable lessons that would create the mold for what I would grow into.