What makes a story interesting and worth hearing about? Is it the excitement, the hero getting the girl, or the unexpected plot twists? Everyone has a story, a series of events in their life that makes up who they are. My story begins way back many years ago (41 to be exact) when I was born about 8 weeks premature. Hearing the stories that my mother has told me several times over the years about being so tiny and extremely sick as a baby with a blood disorder has reminded me that life is precious and should not be taken for granted, but rather cherished.
My story continues growing up one of three children to a single mother during my childhood years. Watching my mother work three jobs, sometimes four just to make sure we had food on the table and a roof over our heads instilled something in me that I wouldn’t realize was crucial until later in life when I became a father myself. Through my teen years, I thought I was invincible like most teens do,and thought I could do no wrong. When we are young, sometimes we do not realize that the choices we make can carry serious consequences. Our only goal should be to learn from them and do our best not to make them again.
When I graduated high school, I moved out to Cleveland, OH to live with my father and go to college. While there, I got my first real job working for Blockbuster Video. Yes, Blockbuster Video. They were popular way back then. After a stint there, I found my way into the food service industry working for Wendy’s. The story continues and more jobs followed from selling vacuum cleaners, to selling cars and landscaping. I found my way back to the food service industry when I moved to Delaware in 1997 when I began working for TGIFriday’s. I held every position possible with them from bussing tables, serving, bartending and ultimately management.
BW-3 as I knew it, was a concept that I fell in love with when I lived in Ohio. You could imagine my excitement when I found out they had one in Bear, DE. It’s been 10 years now with H5H, and each year continues to get better. I have met a lot of great people who have been an influence on me and I hope I have to them as well. For those of us that continue to choose this profession, you have to have a passion for it. It is demanding, time consuming, frustrating at times, but also rewarding. This is, however, only one part of our story.
My personal story continues to be written every minute and every hour of the day being the father of three beautiful children. M’kaila, Austin and Izzie are the reason that I do what I do. Being a father who is understanding, compassionate, forgiving and, yes, hard at times, drives me to be the best that I can for them. I like to think of them as the editors of my story. They are constantly challenging me, driving me and keeping me on my toes. My hope is that someday when I’m no longer here, they realize that it was them that I lived for, and that they were the best characters in my story. In closing, this is my story. No one else’s. No matter what your circumstances are, create a story for yourselves and for those who love you. Let your story matter.
Thank you for allowing me to share a little about me with you.
What’s your Story?
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