Characters

Characters
Matthew: He is my husband and my soul mate. He is a 31-year-old man who is brilliant in his own right. He has had many lives in his three decades. Coming from a family of abuse and conflict. As a small child he and his sister and brother went to live with his father and stepmother. Here started a life of turmoil and harsh dealings. He has earned everything he has and never regrets anything he does or fails at. The qualities I have always admired about him is he is a dreamer and completely fearless. He has always taken his dreams, big or small, and acted on them without fear. He is also an accomplished musician. He had a band for 7 years, and written 100’s of songs. I have watched him play for crowds of 50 or 5,000 and he put the same effort into every show. When he retired from music, he developed a new concept in the restaurant business and is in the middle of a 300+ unit franchising negotiation. I have always admired how he never looks back; he always keeps going forward. He sees no boundaries, only obstacles to overcome. The man I met 9 years ago is a shadow of the man I know now. The usual things brought on this change, marriage, a child, more responsibilities, but he will be a dreamer until he’s gone.

Isabella: She is my beautiful, smart, and forever silly, three year old daughter. She is the smile on my face when I wake up. She is my biggest achievement in life and will always be my true love. Love with a child is completely different than the love you feel for your spouse. It has to be. It is unconditional, through the naughty times, and the sad times and everything in between. She is brilliant. She has talked a mile a minute since before she turned one as well as signed from about six months old. She is a reader and a storyteller. Her imagination is as big as her daddy’s dreams. She is completely sassy with more attitude than an entire junior high of girls. She is extremely emotional and feels everything 1000%. Everything from her gratitude to her sadness is at its most extreme level. She is a painter and would paint the world if I let her. I often describe her as a princess who fell in love with a dinosaur. She would live at the Museum of Natural Science if we let her. The dinosaurs are her friends and the atrium her garden. She memorizes everything and sings to anyone or anything that will listen. She is our child.

My Mom: She is tall, petite in size, blonde hair and long legs. She can put on a happy face to get though any situation and at the right time is fun loving and full of laughter. She lives with deep sorrow for the death of her dad and will never get to a point where she can speak of him and not cry. She was the eternal pessimist until my dad got in a life changing accident last spring. She is still borderline crazy, but is more manageable as the years go by. As a child we did everything together and I can’t remember her ever being in a bad mood. She is a different person than the one I grew up with. When she met my dad (step dad) he brought two children with him and my mom changed. She became bitter and mean after she gave birth to my sister. We also moved to Texas and that made her worse. We grew up with verbal abuse, it was directed at my stepsister and brother most of the time but we all got our fair share. I think my mom lives with regrets and hard feeling every moment of her life. Since my daughter was born I have seen a change in her, I see the mom I grew up with when it was just the two of us.

My Dad: He is actually my step dad but really is the only dad I have ever known. He is a bit shorter than my mom with black hair mixed with grey at the temples. He is of stocky build with muscular arms. He has piercing blues eyes and a charming smile. He is a hustler, doing anything he can to keep his family afloat. He is a giver and will give until there is nothing left of him. He is completely selfless and unappreciated. He is a New Yorker and will always get a laugh out of me when he calls my name. My daughter even corrects him. He is a dreamer as well, but can’t seem to make his dreams work out, partly because of my mom and partly he gives up too soon. My mom wears the pants in our family so he has that follower complex, “Whatever your mother says.” To truly know him you feel sorry for him. Almost like he is a prisoner in our family. He is a good man and will leave this world never knowing just what that means.

Lindsey, my sister: She is one of three sister that I have. She is 16 years old. We tend to favor her, but it has not always been this way. She and my youngest brother are my moms "golden" children, basically her favorites. Lindsey and I have gotten extremely close in the past 5 years. She and my daughter are best friends. My husband would do anything in the world for her. She is more like our daughter than anything else. She is a good girl but likes to drink with her friends. She is outgoing and embraces life. She has always done dance or cheer. She is just a fun and happy person to be around.

My Grandma: This lady helped raise me my first couple year and every summer and Christmas until I was 17. She will forever be stamped in my heart. She is my wisdom, my guidance and my best friend. She has always been optimistic and taught me to see life as miracle and a challenge. She never gives up on anyone or anything. She has advice for everything! Her faith is unwavering. She is a social butterfly and loves life. She is involved with many groups and tends to sit on the board of most of them. She is tall like my mom but bigger built, not over weight but bigger than average. She has good health, for being 86. She is a patient and solid woman. She is someone who has left a mark on hundreds of peoples lives, and doesn’t know it.