Twenty Four years ago, one of the most amazing events in my life occurred, when my beautiful daughter Ariana was born! She was so tiny, sweet and perfect! As I have watched her grow every day she has amazed me! From the first time she rolled over, to the first crawl and all the other milestone events of her early life, I have been in awe of her! From those first days of school when it was so hard to let her go and all of those trips to Disney World and Universal to our love of horror movies and haunted houses she has always brought me joy! Watching her become a young lady as she went to school and getting to have her in my homeroom for all 4 years of high school! Seeing her every morning getting ready in my mobile unit and the fact that she never wore the same outfit once during high school, but always created her own fashion statement! The hardest day of my life was leaving her in Los Angeles to follow her dreams, but it was also one of the proudest I have ever felt! She completed her associates and bachelor’s degree in fashion design and business in 3 years and amazed me every day! And now, watching her struggle through the trials of all the processes involved in her industry and climbing slowly toward that dream! Last spring, I had the pleasure of meeting her boyfriend, Marcial, a wonderful young man! I look forward to getting to know him even better and taking him out in the woods! (As a father, I’ll try not to leave him there!) Seeing her begin to love hiking and camping, which I would have bet a million dollars against, and seeing her face every challenge from diabetes to divorce in our family and all the daily struggles, this young woman is one of the most precious gifts I could have every asked for! As she celebrates her birthday today, I hope it is incredible and I can’t wait to celebrate it in person in October! Every day as I stroll down memory lane looking at all of my pictures of all of those moments, it is almost painful how I miss that little girl that she was, but I cherish the knowledge that we made the most of all of those moments! From vacations, to school days, to visits, I have always taken moments to step back almost out of myself and try to lock those memories in my brain! I KNEW how special they were even as we lived them! From the challenges we faced, our relationship has become strong, from the distance that separates us, we are always close, from the arguments we have, we always end up laughing and making up! For all that I miss that little girl, I cherish the amazing young woman! I also can’t wait to see what the future holds for her! I know it will be as awe inspiring as the last 24 years!
