I was ten when my parents separated. It really shook my world because I could never imagine that they would divorce. My dad later moved in with Kim and her two kids, Jaque and James. The early years of my relationship with Kim were hard. Not because of her, but because it was so radically different from the life I thought I would have.

Things got better as I became a teenager and realized that she wasn’t going anywhere, LOL. I remember getting my driver’s permit right when I turned 15. Kim came and picked me up in her Geo Metro so I could learn how to drive. The metro was a standard transmission, and we chose to practice driving in the parking lot of the high school I was attending. It did not go good. I ended up jumping a curve and busting one of the tires. It was so embarrassing, and some of the kids I went to school with got to witness the whole thing. So I learned how to change a tire and was traumatized towards ever driving in a standard. I didn’t step into another one for almost three years, and I have not driven one since then.

This is just one example of many that shows a part of my relationship with Kim. She taught me how to be an adult and independent. She took me to get my very first checking account when I was fifteen and was working at my first job, McDonald’s. I even moved in with my Dad and Kim that same year. She taught me how to do my taxes, balance a checkbook, file an insurance claim when I got in a wreck, and the basics of cooking.

When I reflect on my relationship with Kim, I cannot see how my life would be without her. So much of the adult I am today is from her loving time spent teaching me about life. I am an independent person that can find out how to take care of things and accomplish my goals. Ya did good!

Happy Birthday Kim!