As we close out this special issue devoted to women, I’m reminded that I'm extraordinarily lucky to have three women in my life who have made my heart:
my mother, who created it;
my wife, who won it;
and my daughter, who perfected it.
Their bravery, resilience, and grace astound me.
It started with my mom. I saw her suffer the loss of not only my father but also my stepfather. She raised me primarily as a single mom, never once missing as much as a day of work for over 40 years. Throughout my life, she’s taught me how to rise up despite my circumstances, to keep a smile on your face and to live by the Golden Rule. She’s inspired me to persevere.
My wife and I met on a bus. Jen literally fell on me as we were standing when the bus stopped short. She fell on me and I fell for her. And by August, she was mine.
By September, the entire world changed in a single morning as we worked in Manhattan.
We soon moved to Montclair to start our family. It wasn’t long before we heard the siren song of Wayne and moved again, two children in tow. Not long after, there’d be a third.
Since we met, I’ve watched this driven, fiercely loyal, independent spitfire become an incomparable mother — thanks in no small part to her own mother. She’s the center of our whole world, the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and undeniably my best friend.
I thought I was prepared when my daughter was born. We all think we’re ready for that seismic shift in your identity. We’re all wrong. This little being changed who I am.
I looked at her that day in absolute awe. That has not changed. It never will.
She once told me I “smelled like purple.” Now I’m teaching her to drive. Somehow, I’ve been a dad for sixteen years. I haven’t called her “pumpkin” for over a decade.
There are far more important things I can call her now. Socially aware. Supremely talented. Impossibly beautiful. Independent, fiercely loyal, a spitfire.
She’s a lot like her mother.
I celebrate having each of them in my life every single day.