Reason

As a kid I remember how my father would wake up before the sun, drink his coffee, and wake us up for school as he was leaving for work. I have a brother that is 18 months older than I am, then 4 years younger than me there is our sister. Our dad worked 2 jobs around this time. He worked as a detention officer at the Adult Detention Center 12 hours a day 5-6 days a week. That job in itself took a toll on him. Then as soon as he was able to clock out from his long shift there, he had just enough time to come home, change clothes, grab his plate from the microwave and head to job number two. Of course he also checked on us first, made sure our homework and chores were done, and told us goodnight and that he loved us before he would leave every time. He wouldn't get home until after midnight most of the time, sometimes later. At this job he was a bouncer at a local bar across town. I remember watching him come home about 2:30 am so tired that he walked in the front door, pushing himself those few more steps to the couch barely able to kick off his boots and then fell right to sleep just to wake up before the sun and do the same thing all over again.

Back then as an 11 year old kid, I'd wake up for school as dad was leaving, I would wake my brother and sister and we all walked to school together. After school we would wait at a certain spot until the three of us were there and then we would walk home together as well. As soon as we got home we had to do our homework first, then we do our chores, then we were allowed to get our afternoon snack. It had to be in that order. My brother and I took turns making dinner so that dad would have his plate ready to grab and go if he needed to, and also so that we could eat, clean our dinner mess, get showered and ready for bed by 9:00 pm just to wake up with the sun and do it all over again.

What I learned from this is that, when you work to keep a healthy functioning routine, no matter how old you are, all of that hard work just from doing your part is worth every moment at the end of the day. Yes, we had rough times and made several mistakes along the way, but we never gave up on each other or ourselves. If one fell we helped them up, dusted what we could and kept moving forward. When one passed a test, got a reward, hit a homerun, or just learned something new we shared those achievements and celebrated our accomplishments. Dad included. He never missed a baseball/ softball/ football game or school band/ choir concert. To him, we were his reason and responsibility, and by us learning with him built strength for his purpose. Together we made it thru long days, restless nights, and countless aches and pains, and in return we all had a roof over our head, 3 meals a day, water to cleanse, clean clothes on our back, basic education, and best of all true love from family that put a meaning to life. This is only the beginning.....(To be continued)