Thanks Ralph!

Dear Will,

I will admit that it is my hope that I will be your superhero for years to come.  No I cannot fly, lift buildings up with one hand, or shoot toxic boogers from my nose.  I had my favorite superheroes when I was young and I loved Batman (I still do) as well as Superman and the Green Lantern.  Yet as I got older those superheroes changed to fit the particular "thing" I was into at the moment.

Today I still have heroes, but they are different and my idea of a hero is more people I admire or truly enjoy their contributions to my world.  For example our current President of the US is Barack Obama and I might not always agree with his policies or actions, but he is my President and has earned my respect.  His job is the most difficult job in the world and he deserves (as do any former or future presidents) our respect.

Then there are the people who make our lives better by creating passion...passion that fuels our desires, dreams, and adventures.  So Will, my current hero is Ralph Gilles the current man in charge at SRT.  Some day when you read this Ralph might be in another position or another company.  However, today May 21st, 2014 he has once again made me very happy.  While I know you are aware of my love for MOPAR cars, I particularly enjoy the SRT division which is the more powerful and better cars atmo. (I'll explain atmo later)

Today is the day after Dodge and more importantly Ralph launched this!

2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat and it could be the most beautiful and exquisitely performing car I will ever get to drive.  I don't know if we will ever be able to own one w/o winning the lottery, but it would be my dream to.  This is the car I dream about owning with you son.  I want us to work on it, drive together on awesome roads, and have adventures in this car or type of car.  I hope some day to pass down a car like this to you as you will love it as much as I do.  I hope your love for cars grows from its current state (love of match box cars) to where we can share the joy together.

Heroes are normal people who do amazing things.  The men and women in the military, police, firemen, and of course us teachers.  Will, someday you will be grown up, but I implore you to find heroes in your life. In the mean time, you and I can share Ralph!


Love ya son,

Dad

The spice of life

Dear Will,

This past weekend we celebrated your second Mother's Day and you did loads of awesome stuff for mom.  You took down all of the shutters on the house and painted them a new color mom wanted.  Then you installed them while hanging out of the window, smashed your foot, arm, and leg with the ladder.  You plan to buy mom a new swim suit for the summer and cooked a really nice steak.  Well, maybe I did those things, but it was from you for sure.

You have to understand that the first love of your life was your mom.  You love her with out bounds or fear of other's opinions.  I do too, but it is a different kind of love.  The kind of love I wish for you some day with a spouse of your choosing.  I don't care if it is a guy or girl as long as you are happy and you enjoy making that person happy.  That my boy is my greatest hope for you.

See Will, I believe that love is what drives every man and woman in all situations.  Sure there will be a guy who loves his car, bike, boat, dog.  A woman who loves her shoes, purse, house, etc.  However, there are two types of love that are worth focusing on.  Number one is the parent child love.  The kind that made me want to kill a dog who attacked you.  I couldn't control myself thinking I needed todo anything   and everything to protect you.  It will be the same way when your sister dates boys.  I watch this with my friends who also have daughters and hope to pull this off some day.  WHEN I do, it will be  epic!  Check this out  You cannot tell me that isn't funny.

Ok, back to my point...The love you feel for your mom and I as well as Gabby is unique to how you see your family.  It changes as you get older and when your mom pisses you off.  I of course will never piss you off, so we are good.  Then there is the love you have when you are crazy head over heels falling in love.  Like the way I love your mom.  This is the type of love is when you are able to breath easier when that person in the same room with you.  The kind of love that makes you excited just to think about them.  The kind of love that you have no problem sacrificing anything and everything you own or could do to make them happy.  It is the kind of love that Dr. Phil says isn't good.  He is a wind bag and if you start buying into his bs then we will have to start over and un-train the crap right out of you.

Someday I hope you find your true love.  It took me a rough draft before I could have my final one.  Your mom is something special,unlike any woman I have ever met.  She isn't perfect, but none of us are and I find her perfect for me.  Now, that is what you need to find, someone for you like your mom is for me.

Good luck son!


Love ya,

Dad

A little for you and a little for me.

Dear Will,

Good morning son!  I needed to say that as I didn't get to see you before I headed off to work this morning and I was thinking about you a lot last night and when I woke up this morning.  I was thinking mostly about the fun times we had lad night playing and all of us, even Gabby, piled into our bed after your bath to watch a movie.  You couldn't have been more excited to have all of us there and to be honest it was a blast.

This got me thinking about love and how much I love your mom and you kids.  See a good relationship goes through ups and downs, mostly ups as anyone who is in love tries to minimize the downs.  Your mom and I don't have many downs and when we do we try to work them out together with honest communication.  We are far from perfect and both know that we will not always see eye to eye on everything.  That might sound like a bad thing, but it is exactly the opposite.  Any good relationship takes hard work to make it work.  So what does it mean to work hard relationship?  Well, for your mom and I it means giving the other person what they want as much as they can w/o hurting anyone.  For example I tell your mom she is beautiful everyday.  That is something I have done our entire relationship.  I try to help cleanthe house after you mess it up, cook, rub her back or shoulders if she has had a hard day.  I also listen, but your mom might say I talk to much.  I suppose I do, but I mean well.

The lesson here is to put other's needs, even if they are small, before your own.  Not allof the time, but most of the time.  If you give a little then it is ok to ask for a little.  Your mom does tons of stuff for me and we are good at the give and take.  It isn't always easy, but that is what makes the hard work worth it.  In your future relationships try to make your partner feel loved.  This isn't about sex or making out, this is about kindness, putting him or her first often enough so that they feel it.  When you enjoy doing for others it becomes intoxicating.  You want to please because it makes you feel good.  There is nothign wrong with feeling great about giving...just make sure it is a two way street and you don't get taken advantage of. That is a fine line to walk and will take practice.  You will get hurt many times before you understand what works best for you. The great thing is that when you find someone who shares this type of thinking...well that is when love happens.  That my boy is why love can be so wonderful.  That is why I love your mom so much.



Rule:  If you get married you have to put your spouse first above everyone else.

You have very little say in being a part of a family.  You didn't pick me as a dad the same way I didn't pick you as a son.  We just happened to be stuck together...for which I am grateful.  I did however, chose to be with your mom and that choice is one of my greatest ones ever.  You will not choose your spouse's family and I hope you love them as your own, but you might not.  They might irritate the hell out of you, but they come with your spouse.  No matter what you deal with, your wife comes first...as often as is needed.  You have to be the rock she anchors herself to.



All for now.

Love ya

Dad