My Wife And My First Child

When I finished in Key West, I had a few weeks off before I started my new assignment in GA. During these few weeks I rejoined my family in NC and took my wife house hunting in GA. We found a great development just going up with a new K-8 school, which would be finished at the start of the next school year, just outside the gate of the development. We decided to have a house built and the time frame for completion fit in just right at the end of July. The idea of having

My family may not be the tightest, or richest, but my parents love me and would do anything for me. My parents made me who I am, my mom told me to be humble and never judge a person because who knows what that person has been through. On the other hand there's my dad, who taught me a lot about the real world, and life is not as easy as I thought and you'll need money to have a decent life, so stay in school, because school the only way for a better life. My oldest brother probably taught me the most though. He tells me about sports and who got traded or hurt, he tells me about politics. They are the reason I am me. After all, if I was raised by my uncle, I think I wouldn't even think about going to college, I would prolly live in Norwood all my life following in his footsteps, but I wasn't, I was raised by two supporting parents, who wants me to have a better life than them and will make sure I will. My family made me who I am, with my dad lectures about me needing to work for what I want, to my mom's kindness and showing me how to treat others no matter who they are.

Everyone has someone in their life that makes you feel better when you're sad or cares about you eternally, no matter what. That is my family, specifically my Dad, my Mom and my brother Brian. Some people take their family for granted, but I know that without my parents I wouldn’t have a roof over my head or food on a plate or even clothes on my back. Without my brother, I might not have played any sports, my brother is the one who introduced all types of sports into my life and motivated me to do my best.

John F. Kennedy once said, ”Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” This quote explains how much of a support my grandparents, family, and a safe country mean to me. I am very thankful for my grandparents who support me all the time and come to sporting events and love to hear about school when they call at night. I am also thankful for my amazing family, who always stand by me everyday and love to hear about my school day and come to baseball games even when they don’t really want to. Some of the other things that I am also thankful for are that we can live safe happy lives, we don’t have to be drafted into the Army, etc. Lastly, I am thankful for a safe country that has a great armed forces, leaders, and is very generous. Moreover, I am thankful for a safe country, family, and my amazing grandparents.

I waited for the black truck to arrive at my door. I never knew my aunt, uncle, and cousin, and now they would become my new family. However no one could really replace my real family. My Mom, Dad and younger brother got into a car wreck. I was the only survivor. My heart still aches from the experience. To make matters worse, I would have to leave my home in New York to go and live with my closest relatives in the country. My emotions and thoughts were acting like they had been put in a blender. I was happy that my extended family was willing enough to take me into their care, I was sad because I would have to live away from my home and friends. Everything will be different nothing will ever be the same again.

As cliché as it may sound, my friends and family are the most important things in my life. When I say that my parents are the best in the world, I am not exaggerating. They treat me like an adult, appreciating my opinions in debates about anything from sports to politics and telling me the truth whenever possible. With them, I have been able to see the world, traveling to around the United States (to places like New York City, Acadia National Park, and even Columbia, South Carolina) and abroad (including Bermuda, Italy, and France). In my family, I am able to find people who challenge me to be my best and who also notice when I need comfort. On a similar note, my friendships have made me into a more adventurous, open person. I am naturally cautious and can worry extensively over decisions, but my friends have a way of bringing me out into the world. I have had wonderful experiences like going to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal and taking late-night fishing trips that I never would have done on my own. The people I love bring out the best in me and make me want to be even better.

As children we are born into a family in which we are chosen by God to be in. We are placed in a home, community, and an environment that makes us who we are today. Some of us must seek to overcome and grow out of the place we were born in and others are more content with where they were brought up in. As a child I was born in a good home yet fought many battles but it made me the strong soldier I am today.

It seemed as if a war was happening right in the middle of our kitchen. Seeing the puddles of tears streaming down from my sister and I’s face was undoubtedly heartbreaking for my parents, but it was also heartbreaking for my sister and I to find out our parents were getting a divorce. Their screaming was loud and constant. I wish my walls were soundproof.

“Hello, do you want to be my friend?” Wow, what a childish thing to say. Nevertheless, it was from my mouth in which these words came out of. I remember constantly saying this exact line to almost everyone I know, and the response I got was always something similar to a smile and “of course”, what happens after this is playing for hours on end and departing when our parents dragged us home. That was how I lived my childhood, making new friends wherever I go and ending everyone with separation due to our parents. During those times, I would be so annoyed with my mom, dragging me home every time we started to have fun. I now realize it was because we were a mess, covered in dirt and due to the fun we were having we didn’t even realize it was raining. But when I had realized this care that my parents had for me it was too late, my parents had divorced and I was left with my dad.

Everyone has their story. What makes them unique and special? Where did they come from? What made them the way they are ? For me it is that I grew up faster than most. It started when I was little, I always wanted to do my own hair. The thing I always said was, “I can do it myself.” If anyone tried to help I would still say the same thing. It then continued when my parents got a divorce. I was very young; around six and a half years old. When this happened I did not know what to  feel but I was still a happy, cheerful kid. I now realize that family is very valuable and can change in a heartbeat. The idea of family to me means people who would do almost anything for you and you would do the same. After the divorce, when at my dad’s, I had to help take care of my younger brother. I would help him dress, brush his teeth, and make food. I now value what my mom does and did when I was a kid more because taking care of my little brother was difficult.

Darkness, anger, sadness, innocence and love: these are the words that describe my older half-brother and all the memories and emotions he brings to me and my parents. I was born in a loving home, he was born under chaos. My father is my hero, his father is his villain. To take care of me, my mom left her job. To take care of him, my mom left my brother with my grandmother so that she could get a job. This story is hard to digest and harder to put into words. The relationship between my family and my brother is now over, and it made my vision of life and family change completely.

Growing up, my mother grew up with a pastor as a father and a teacher as a mother. Both parents were strict, and extremely traditional. My mother and hers siblings wore conservative clothing, and were home early on the week days and weekends. All were forced to do good in school and be fully true to God. Their life was all about tradition and doing what their parents told them to do. My grandma wanted my mother to go into nursing so she would be the one to take care of the family since my mother was the only sibling staying back in Iowa, rather than my mother’s sibling who have moved all over the country.

she said “my aunt…she was the one that took care of me…my uncle and my husband.” Ramona recalls her mother spent extensive hours away from home, working on behalf of the family.

While interviewing my grandmother I have come to respect the changes her and my grandfather made within their own family. My grandmother and grandfather grew up in a home where their mothers were always cooking and their fathers were never home. Dinnertime was never a time their parents believed was important. They decided together that when they had children of their own they would make things different. My grandfather always made us breakfast and drove us to school, and no matter what meal it was my sisters and I always ate together at the table. My grandmother always did all the grocery shopping, and we would all help her prepare the dinner, set the table, and clean up. Our dinners always started with a prayer, and we would tell each other about our day. Most nights at the table were pretty rambunctious, because there are six of us in our family. One was always speaking over the other, teasing each other, and making jokes. Dinner time was relatively very fun in our household.

Prior to the semester starting, my family and I flew to my county of origin Colombia. My grandfather was undergoing an emergency surgery. My mother and I feared that something unfortunate would happen to him. My stay in Colombia was only 7 days I came back the ## then school had started the next day. Despite the fact that my grandpa came out surgery in good health, I was still distracted because I returned to America alone, while my mother and step father stayed for an additional 2 weeks to care for my grandfather post op. On the day that I was supposed to pick up my parents at the airport I received a call from my mother telling me that spirit will not let Ricco my step-father fly due to his resident card was expired. My mother went to the American council to see how this could be fixed, they responded telling her Ricco my stepfather will no longer be a resident of America or be allowed back to the United States due to traveling with an expired residency. My mother calls me hysterical, crying saying ricco is not allowed back and what we were going to do?