Welcome to January 2018 Ultimate Blog Challenge Day #3. This morning we received our prompts, and were supposed to write about “Who We Admire & Why?” We can pick a friend, family member, colleague, business, and compose a blog post about the quality you most admire in them. Or write about the qualities you most admire in others or aspire to in your own life.
As I read this post a lot of people went through my mind although my mind kept returning to one person time and time again. Can you guess who this person is? Or why I chose them? Before you ask was it Charlie the answer is no. Although Charlie has overcome a lot of obstacles, Now before you ask if David. No, it wasn’t David although I think David is the most excellent man around. I also didn’t pick my dad who is my idol.
I decided to pick Leslie, my stepdaughter, who had to overcome so much in her life. I came into Leslie life when she was twelve. Leslie mom and dad were separated and had been for years when David and I started to date. From the first moment I met Les, I fell in love with her as she reminded me of Suzzane in so many ways. I was so proud to have Leslie in my life.
Throughout her life Les has always been put in the last place in her family because Leslie has a sister who had children and her mom put them first. From taking Les room away and letting Ashley have her bedroom. As Les progressed in school, she was in Choir and would have concerts, and her mom wouldn’t come to she the concerts because Sandra didn’t want to leave home. I would make sure David was home in time for us to attend the concerts.
Of and on throughout the years Les would come and live with us as her mom didn’t have room for her. Or didn’t want to take Leslie to school. I would even drive across town to take Leslie to school so she wouldn’t have to ride the bus. I would go up and have lunch with Leslie when she would ask me because Leslie didn’t have anyone else.
In High School Leslie grandparents made the decision and moved Leslie out of her mom Sandra’s home into her grandmothers so she could continue in High School. Because her mom Sandra wasn’t making Leslie go to school and had enrolled Leslie in a school where she wasn’t getting the help she needed.
Throughout high school, Les ended up making A’s and B’s and became ROTC Princess as her grandparents pushed Leslie to be the best she could. David and I tried to help in any way we could but Leslie and her David’s relationship isn’t the best it could be from all her mom did to her growing up. But there is one thing I can tell you, David loves Leslie and couldn’t be more proud of Leslie than David is.
Once Les graduated from high school, she moved to Houston to live with her boyfriend Toby leaving all of her friends and family to live with Toby’s family. While there Leslie worked and helped take care of his sisters and brothers. While there Toby proposed to Leslie and decided he would join the Army so he could take care of them. Although Toby had been working in the local jail as a jailer and had a good job. The jail had a lock down while Toby was working and this caused Toby and he didn’t want to go back to the jail.
Leslie came back to Fort Worth while Toby finished Boot Camp and then they moved to Fort Hood where Toby was until being sent to Iraq. Although Toby wasn’t able to go to Iraq because the Army sent Toby to the doctor to get a checkup. Through the test they conducted they found out Toby had Testicular Cancer.
Through the last year, Leslie and Toby were dealing with Toby’s Cancer treatments and Leslie was pregnant. Leslie never gave up and has kept her family going, and now, they are waiting on Toby to be dismissed from the Army so they can move back to Fort Worth with Leslie grandparents.
Leslie says she wants to begin school to become a Veterinarian as Toby is Cancer free. All I can say is this young lady amazes me. I couldn’t be more proud of Leslie and Toby if she were my biological daughter. Leslie is the best big sister ever and always took care of Charlie when he was a baby. Every day she would bring Charlie something new to wear to school. I can tell you Elijah will be one lucky little boy to have Leslie and Toby as there parents.
Leslie may only be 24, but she is so much more mature than people twice her age. I am so blessed to know Leslie is Charlie’s guardian if anything happens to David and I. Because I know Leslie will always take care of Charlie and make sure Charlie finishes school. I will never have to worry about Charlie like I would if someone else took Charlie. Even though Leslie parents are Alcoholics and Drug Addicts, along with Leslie and Charlie’s older brother Travis who was in Prison you can see Leslie broke the habit.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie, and David Cates
What a wonderful blog post Glenda! I know of a young woman similar to Les, her parents were too busy with themselves to realized they had a beautiful, intelligent and loving daughter. It sounds like Les and you both got the best end of things, you have a wonderful “daughter” and she has given you no worry if Charlie needs someone else in his life. Les is so beautiful and her little one is adorable, so glad she didn’t follow the footsteps of her mom and walked down her own path.
Nice tribute!