As a child my dad and his family were homeless until the age of 12. Sure they had a home sometimes, but largely they slept on the ground or in someplace they were not wanted.

He always had the determination that he would never experience those days again or let his family. He worked many jobs and harder than anyone I know, but yet he was still so present in our lives growing up.

There are many details of his childhood, but the key to know is that your current situation is never a predictor of your future success. It is up to each of us to create the reality that we want for ourselves and our families. My dad always believed that you have to take responsibility for your life in order to achieve success. That means sacrificing the luxuries or time to build what you want in this life.

In fact, he would nails out of wood for hours to have materials to build our home. These are the things nobody knew that showed how committed he was to his family.

Thank you Pop for loving us and doing all you could to ensure we had a better life than you did. Thanks for never letting us wonder if you loved us or were proud. We love and are proud of you.