My father was only 19 years old when I was born. He was not sure how to be a proper husband or father, due to the fact that he never knew his own father. As a result my parents divorced when I was 2 years old. Shortly after their divorce my father was arrested for smuggling a large amount of cocaine into America from Mexico. He was eventually sentenced to 22 years in prison. I did not have many opportunities to get to know my fathers over the years, no time to be daddy’s little girl. His communication with me mainly consisted …show more content…
2013 was marked with endless road trips. Road trips were I would pack up my two year old son and drive 8 hours one way all alone. While, my husband stayed home in Arizona, to work and provide for our family. This year all though exhausting, was a blessing in disguise. My father was able to meet his only grandchild and I was able to spend a month getting to know my father better. It was heartbreaking to see my vibrant father wither away to become the dust of the earth, just one month before my sons’ third birthday ended up creating the most beautiful memories of my father that I have. I will always carry them with me in my heart.
My son’s last major surgery was completed in 2014. I am happy to report that he is an exuberant first grader and full of life just like his Grandpa was. We ended up losing our home to foreclosure and have gone into debt to pay for our sons’ surgeries and my fathers’ care. Although the past 6 years have been a strain financially and emotionally, they have shaped me into an independent woman that is rising above the past to blaze a trail to a new bright future. Since my father died so young at only 49 years old, it has lit a fire under me to do more and to be more because life is too short to waste