my lito

it was my the spring semester of my junior and i was going back to baylor. i had been through the difficulties of coming to terms with all the learning disabilities along with rebounding from my depression and i was ready to try it all again. i stood next to him and held his hands while he prayed over me before i left. and when he started to pray that i would make it through and graduate he began to cry. in that moment, i knew that he had become so much more than my lito...we have golfed together, ridden elephants, chased tornados, and we have done life together and done it well.

my grandfather has driven a school bus for the last 15 years. i can remember the first time he drove me on my first field trip. i sat right behind him and talked to him until we arrived at our destination. it was field day at standridge stadium and i was in the 6th grade. he could’ve left and come back when he was scheduled to pick us up, but he stayed and watched everything with me. even when i was in high school he would sign up to take the drill team to our away games so that he could be there to see me perform. and i would take my seat right behind him like always and talk to him all the way. looking back now, i was always so proud of him being there. he didn’t have to sign up for the trips or videotape the performances...he had already done so much more than my real dad. it would’ve been enough to know he was in the stands and it is still enough. he has been there for every dance recital, piano and violin concert, every birthday, moving day, graduation day and every other day i’ve needed him. he even dropped me off at dance class while he was in the midst of having a heart attack.

and as much as i have learned from lito already, i am constantly absorbing more. i understand that he makes time for his church, my grandmother, and the family although they all come second to the relationship he has with Christ. the greatest example he will ever give to us is that of a Godly man and he is that and more. i can’t believe that he has been married to my grandmother for 57 years...they actually met in a bar one night while he was in the navy...he says she was just too beautiful to let her pass him by. and they have built an amazing life together that honors God and gives us hope.

and i know that if you asked anyone in my family about my grandpa they would all have the same things to share...that he has been there. my cousin aaron and i will forever be embattled in the question of who loves my lito & lita more...it’s me! he has not only filled in for the place my real father has left in my life, he has become the greatest dad i could ever ask for. he has graciously let me change his flat tires, allowed me to scratch his car, and carried me without asking questions. my mother and i never asked him to do it for me, but he has and for that i am forever grateful and humbled by his love, time, and legacy. Happy Father’s Day Toe...i love you.