I accomplished a lot in my 20's. I was 20 years old when I first moved out of my parents home with $200 in my pocket and a janky car. I lived with my pregnant sister for a few months while collecting jobs doing "extra" work on Party Of Five and Seventh Heaven. 9 years later, here I am with my own "party of 4" (myself, wife, and two dogs).
It has been a long, interesting 20's thus far, with one more year to go in my twenties (which are known to be "The Best Years Of Your Life"). My wife an I got some unfortunate news lastnight. After getting the news, I thought more and more about life and started to think if people really know how much I apperciate them. I know I am still young in a way, and have a long life ahead of me, but why wait until the end of the road to let people know how you feel. So, I want to take time to thank a few people.
I have a lot of people in my life that I appreciate, love, adore and envy. All for different reasons. I get one wish when I blow out my candles (and I did yesturday morning), so now, I want to thank and leave a wish for each of the people who left something special with me in my life so far. I hope I keep you close for the next 29.
I want to thank people, but not sure if all feel comfortable having their names here. So I will use initials. You know who you are.
First group to thank: FRIENDS!
R.G. - You are the closest thing to a blood brother I have ever had. I can't exactly remember when and where we met, but I could swear it feels like when we were kids. You are my exact duplicate. I love you for having the heart the size of a mountain, for having patience like nothing I have ever seen. You are the kind of father I hope to grow to be. One that will do whatever it takes to let his kids know he loves them. The kind to go out to the end of the earth and back for his children. You have a heart made of gold (and some chicks might even say, so is your "member"). You have been there through my hard times and the best times. I will love you like a family member (and ask you for money like one too. j/k).
My B- day wish to you: To enjoy watching your daughter grow up to be as good of a mother as you were a father to her. I am sure she will. She is raised by the best man she can possibly have in her life. If every human had a father like you, this place would be a lot better to live in.
B.E. - "B". You have shown me parts of me I never knew existed. After being neighbors, I found new ways to accept challenges and learn from them. You have been a friend that lets me know that no matter how hard life sometimes gets, there is always a way to get back up. Your success in life is because you push yourself hard and never throw your hands up to quit. You are generous and always giving and never ask for anything in return. I really do not know how you do it. You are a remarkable human who can build a country from scratch if you wanted to. What the heck are you doing in Banking? You should go run a nation. Your talent of giving is something that I truly admire as well as desire.
My B-day wish to you: To be able to receive back when you have given. Even if it is not in a material sense. I wish good karma for you, and wish you blessings enough to last the life time of yourself, your kids and generations after. You have done more good to this world by yourself, then most charity companies can in a lifetime.
G.P: "G". You are my inspiration. Your spirit of seeing the best in people is something I wish to own. You can see someones talents or good, when everyone else sees nothing. You are able to talk to me in ways that I can see what I am capable of. You are like the light in the darkness and you help me see clearly what I can do and inspire me to keep pushing along. You are a giving person who always puts others ahead of yourself. Your family is as giving and loving as you are to others and I can clearly see that you were raised by amazing people around you. You teach me how to see the best in people and love them for their talent and skill and friendship. An old quote I remember from a book once said "Friends are the kind of people who know the type of person you are, and love you for it anyway". You really make me feel like you appreciate me for who I am and what I "could" be, and not what I "should" be.
My B-day wish for you: To be surrounded by the strong, loving family of yours for the rest of your life and to have your life be as blessed as much as you have blessed mine. I owe you everything I have been able to accomplish for being able to put motivational wisdom within me.
D.W: You are the brother from another mother. You really are an older brother to me. You have known me for many years and have seen me grow. We have partied together, lived next to eachother, and even worked together. You have remained a friend while most of the people from those years have come and gone. The reason is because you stayed true and always told me the truth. You opened up to me and protected me in times of need. You have had my back and even stood up for me. That is truley the work of a big brother. I look up to you for the fact that you are proof, that just because your age gets higher, the heart does not have to grow old with it. You have remained young at heard and spirit and I hope to be able to stay true to myself as you have been to me. Your honesty and wisdom have never failed me and will be with me throughout my life.
My b-day wish to you: To be able to keep that young spirit and heart for the rest of your life. I know that you have a big heart and can look out after those you care most about. There is a reason for me to have met you and that is to learn from you and know you will be a big brother for me for the rest of my life.
My wife's girlfriends in Sweden: I do have to appologize to you three. The bond the four of you have is something I have with the four men listed above and I can never imagine not being close to them. I am sorry I have taken my "love" out of your lives. The importance of her in all of your lives is as important as the men above are to me. You are all like sisters to her, and for that you are sisters to me. I adore and love you all and know that you are there for her when she needs someone most. You have accepted me regardless of knowing me as good as others. You never questioned her reasoning and have welcomed me in a way only true friends can. I am happy and blessed that she has you as friends. I do not think she would have had the strength to come here if you didn't show her that you will be there for her no matter what.
I will always love you three for being the best friends my wife can have and will be the first one to answer if you ever need anything.
My b-day wish to you all: To be able to keep the strength of staying together. The friendship you four have is a bond that can never be broken as long as you know how important it is for each of you. I can see you all being friends well into your retirement years, and with every year, your bond will get stronger. Thank you for accepting me and for being amazing people for her.
My friends who are not listed: I could mention many more people. Frankly, some I don't know your last name, so listing one initial would be pointless. Besides, every friend in my life has brought something that I learned from and will take with me for the rest of my life. So thank you.
My b-day wish to you: That we can have a friendship that will last for the rest of our lives and that our lives are filled with health, wealth, and joy.
TO MY FAMILY:
My wife's brother and sister (and their partners): You are the most welcoming people I have ever met. With out a second thought, you have opened your hearts, minds and arms (as well as opened up your home) to me. You have the strength to let your little sister go to the other side of the world to be with someone you trust and think is worthy of her. For that, I can not say thank you enough. The siblings are the glue that keeps the family, and you are by far the most strongest siblings I have met. You are as good of friends to me as if you have known me my whole life. You have made me feel like a family member and have nothing but amazing things to say about me. I am truley honored to call you family. I hope that I can raise my children one day to be as close as you all are and to make sure they are as sweet, kind, loving and gracious to others, as you have been to me. I love you all as I love my own brother and sister. I will return my love, heart, and friendship back to you as you have done to me for the past few years you have known me. There is no way I can ever known that a family like yours can be so welcoming. I thank you for being you and for letting me, be me.
My b-day wish to you: To stay blessed with the most wonderful people around you. Your family and lovers, are the most incredible people, and you make them better people. I hope to learn from you and hope to continue to be a better person because of knowing you all.
My wife's parents: Where do I start? you are the most incredible people I have ever met. I can not imagine what it is like to let your daughter go out of your home, out of your city and out of your country. I hope I never have to do that, but if I do, I hope I can have the strength you have had to do it for your daughter. I can not begin to explain how much I envy your family values. You have put yourself second and let your daughter be first. You supported her to go after her dreams of learning in the U.S. and now, let her go after starting her own family. It is an amazing courage to step aside and let someone go on their own. You are outstanding parents who have raised amazing children who have given more to the world then anyone can ask. You are supportive as a back bone and keep all those in the family grounded. Your strength is something that can never be broken and what you have tought your family, is something that can never be unlearned. You are the air that they breath, and they can not live without you. I look at your daughter every day and thank that she has you as her parents. She is smart (seriously, a genious), she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, she is funny, charming, loving, caring, giving, sweet, elegant, respectful and professional, and I can say from the bottom of my heart, Thank You! for raising her to be the best woman a man can ask for. Your daughter is "perfect" in every sense of the word and it is all because of you. You are an amazing couple who take anyone into their home and into their hearts, and I know that my life and marriage will be successful for the rest of my life because my wife is the best thing I can ever ask for because her parents have raised her to be that way. You should be very proud. I know I am to have you as my in-laws and I couldn't ask for a better family to join then the one have now. Thank you for being the most incredibly open and loving family. I look forward to growing old with you all in my life.
My B-day wish to you: I will only say this: If I can have half the strength you have when I finally have children, If can raise a family that is half as amazing as the family you have raised, then I would be most pleased. I do not think there is a way I can ever have the strength you have as a parent, but I promise to do my best and try. I will love your daughter for the rest of my life and beyond, and will give her my all, just like you give her your all. I hope that if anything at all, I make you proud.
My Sisters kids: I love the two of you as if you were my own kids. I am proud of you and take joy in knowing what amazing men you will grow up to be. You may not know this, but I learn from you. It sounds silly, but your pure and young heart keeps me young at heart. your laughter and wisdom is something I wish I could have. The pure joy in living as a child is something I try to hold on to for as long as I can. Whenever I see you and talk to you, I feel young again. If I could, I would return to my childhood again just so I can be friends with you at school. You both have an amazing family that loves you and will do anything for you. You are always protected and will always be loved. I hope that you take every opportunity that comes your way. You can be a pro-skater, a singer, an artist, a doctor, even a president. don't ever let anything hold you back and don't let anyone let you think you are not good enough.
If I can tell you anything, it is this: 1) do your very best in school. I know it sounds lame but believe me, I was not very good at school and now that I am older, I wish I did it differently. I dont want you to look back one day and wish you did something differently. Just do it the right way now, so you have no regrets. 2) always go for it. Seriously, if you want to be a pro-skater, spend as much time as you need practicing. If you want to learn music, listen to all kinds of music and learn from your history. There is something good about practice. It makes perfect.
3) Always love first and always give before asking for something in return. Too many people in the world "want want want". The things we own, like playstation, rollerblades, a tv, they are all nice, but when you get older, you will realize that there are a lot of people who have nothing. It feels so much better to give to someone and love someone instead of asking for something for yourself.
My b-day wish to you: To stay young at heart as you get older. You both are extremely smart and you will take over the world. I hope that you realize that the people around you (saba, sata, your grandma and grandpa, Guy, Nef, Damar, Karin and even myself) all love you and will do everything we possibly can to make sure you get the best opportunity in life. You will never have to worry about not being loved. We will all always love you. And make sure you wake up every morning thanking your mom. Your mom is what will get you through life and you have your whole life to thank you for.
My Sister: You are my armor. You have protected me and looked out for me since I was born. You are the closest thing to me and our bond is like iron. I learned more from you then I have in school. Nobody is perfect, and yet, you love me for who I am anyway. You took me in when I first ventured out on my own and you have looked out for me since. You give me strength and courage to go out into the world and take it by storm. I learned alot from you so far and I know I still have a lot more to learn. I still have a lot more to teach as well since you and I both learn from eachother. You are an outstanding sister and an even more outstanding mother. You have raised some fine boys who will grow into some remarkable men one day. I miss you and hope that so far I have been eveything I can possibly be as a brother. I hope I never disapointed you and hope we grow together and never BS eachother. I am glad to call you sister.
My b-day wish to you: To be blessed with a long, healthy life to see your children achieve everything they are capable of. If they grow up to be half as good to eachother as you have been to me, then they will be truley blessed.
My Brother: You really help me keep my head on my shoulders. You remind me a lot of myself. That is a good thing, because I can learn a lot from seeing you and hopefully teach you as well. I can not express to you how much I love you man. Your persistence in life is an amazing quality and your ability to learn things quickly is something many hope to gain. You are a talented, extremely smart person and I hope you get all that you deserve in life. You are the trunk of the family tree, and you hold up all of us when we are ratteling in the wind of the storm. Your ability to stay strong and to hold down your own, is the reason we all can stay together. Don't ever feel like you are not bringing anything to this family, you have brought more into it then anyone else. You have been able to keep us from breaking apart. In our glass house, you have been the one to keep the bricks out of our hands. I know it sounds cheesy, but you are truley an amazing, and inspiring humanbeing. For that, I thank you.
My B-day wish to you: To be able to find what you love, because the talent you have can make you more successful then you can possibly dream. You have a great mind that can lock onto a thought, and see it through. I hope that success becomes you and that you are able to achieve all that I know you are capable of.
My Mother: If there is a peace of heaven on this earth, it is definitely inside your heart. It is a talent, how you raised me as a mother. Now that I am 29 and will probably be a father (soon to hopes of dad), I look back at everything you thought me and I am just amazed by the grace of your spirit. You have never given up hope on me, even when I have given hope up on myself. You have stood by my side when the wind was blowing and you lifted me up above water when I felt like my world was drowning. There is not enough positive words to define how you are as a mother. With every birthday, I realize I am more and more like you and I am thankful for that. You can make me see my talent and what I am able to accomplish better then anyone on this planet. You are the light within me that keeps me going and the sun that helps me flourish. I just want to say thank you for being able to see me for who I am and what I want to be. You are supportive and loving and there is no rhyme to your reasons for loving me.
My B-day wish to you: To forever know that the love you watered me with, will help me grow and pass it along to others. I will pass the kindness and love I have learned from you onto my children and so on. You have forever, changed this world.
My father: If God has made man in his image, then I believe it when I see you. There is nothing in this world you can not change. You are the strongest human I have ever witnessed. With a heart the size of a ship and the courage of a lion you have been able to take our family and keep it sailing. I can never be as good of a father as you have been, but I will always try. There is a force within your parenting that makes me envy everything about you. You are the most loving and giving man and the compassion you give to others before yourself is selfless and kind. I can only hope to grow up to be as strong on the inside as you are. Your ability to handle life is remarkable and there is no force in the world that can stop you from protecting and caring for those you love. If I grow up to be an outstanding father, it is truly your doing. There is no question in the world that you don't have an answer to. There is no pain in the world that you can not endure. There is no love in the world that you can not match. You are the greatest man in my eyes, and you can rest in comfort knowing that everything I am, everything I create, everything I will be to my kids and grandkids, is all because of you. You molded me into a fantastic person who is willing to put his family first and himself second. Just the way you have. That, is a beautiful thing and only great men in history are known to do.
My birthday wish to you: To be able to know that you will never have to stress or worry about what kind of father I will be. I promise you that the way you have raised, loved and taught me, is the way I will in my family. I am your biggest idol and you don't need me to wish for anything for you except many more years of being surrounded by all of us who love you.
and last but never least....
My Wife: It maybe a bit cheesy to write everything here. I know. Then again, I think the only people who read this are you and my mothers, so I am not too embarrassed. I always feel like I never tell you how much I love you enough. But, I want to tell you that you are my "whole". You are my reason for waking up in the morning and my reason to breath. Your ability to motivate me and to push me to places I never thought I could touch is amazing. Whenever I feel like I can't reach higher, or go furthur, you get behind me and push me along. Your strength to support me emotionally and with endless amount of support is priceless. You can not find the kind of love and affection you provide in any kind of person in the world besides you. You are the door in which has made my life with you my home. My years before I met you have been only lessons to teach myself to be able to return my love for you. There is million words of beauty I can write about every small piece of you. From your eyes, to your soul, from your heart to your nose. I love every single inch of you and your spirit, and I adore everything about your personality and ability to love. You have sacrificed your friends and time with family to be here with me and to that I am forever in debt to you. You have showed truly what you are made of by being able to set aside your life at home, to be able to come here to start your own. Your smile can cure any ache and pain in any person and I can tell you that from the day I have met you, I never once, felt pain or sadness. The ability to be surrounded by you is something that can bring peace to anyone who comes across you. I can not change myself enough to even come close to the perfection that is you. If there are lines I ever crossed or things I have said that were ever less then perfect, it is only because I am incapable of ever being as perfect as you. You are the sun in my day, and my dreams in the night. I wake to spend every second to see you and I sleep to only dream of you.
You are my engine within my talent, you are the electricity within my potential. You are my wings that take me higher everytime I achieve something new. You are my reason to live.
My birthday wish to you: I make no wish. I make a promise. I promise to never let you down and always be by your side. I am the shoulder you can lean on. The arm that will never let you fall. I will be the feet that will take you on your journey in life and I will be the backbone that will help you rise when you are weak. Because no matter what you think, you have been all those things to me. I promise you that I will be everything I can for you, even if I never come close to what you have been for me. I love you.
- SD
1 comment:
Happy Birthday!
Is that picture of you? I used to watch Party of Five. I don't remember seeing you on there.
Post a Comment