To my step-dad, Butch, this one's for you.

Let me tell you a little about him. He was a Huey Pilot in the Vietnam and served for roughly 3 years with an honorary discharge, while also being a Purple Heart recipient. He was a hard-worker and always had multiple tasks on hand. He LOVED cars, especially corvettes. He built his own house and also built his own plane simulator. Also, you can't forget about his passion for music and particularly rock music. He owned a rock club, Charley Magruders, in the 80's and became known as Atlanta's Godfather of Rock and Roll. He had a recording studio in his basement and also went on tour and worked with some pretty big rock artists. Needless to say, he was a pretty cool guy.

I said goodbye thinking I would get to see you again but little did I know God had other plans for you. The month you were in the hospital was the longest month my mom and I had endured, but your love was still somehow as strong as ever. The strength, wisdom, and charisma you always had radiating from you is something I aspire to have. As much as it pains me to not be able to see you everyday, I feel you with me all the time. You're in a better place and no longer suffering, and with that I live content.

To sum up how he came into my life, my mom had dated him when she was just a teenager and their story came to a pause until around 30 years later they ran into each other. God worked his magic and brought these two love birds back into each other's lives. A love was reborn and they did not hesitate to get married. A marriage spent for 8-months before he passed did nothing but show me what true love was. I will never forget how special and unique their wedding was and I hope to walk down the isle at my wedding to the same song by Journey that they did.

Butch, thank you. I know that's cliche, but I never truly got to tell you how much I had appreciated you and everything you did. I never got to cherish and love you to my fullest, but you still loved me to yours. You were my role model, my biggest inspiration, and the source of my knowledge about good music and cars. You showed me how to love and how to be loved. You taught me more about life than school would have ever taught me. You may not have been in my life for long, but you will always remain within me.

I don't regret not saying goodbye, because I know I will see you again. Rather, I wish I could have said I will see you later and tell you I loved you one more time. I didn't say it much but I know you knew how much I did and how much I still do and always will.. Thank you for looking out for me. Day to day I know I am always safe and in good hands because you are there watching me from above and supporting me in everything I do. I will never stop making you proud.

He knew more people than anyone I know and there was never a bad thing to be said about him. He lit up every room he was in and always had the biggest smile on his face. He was constantly laughing, constantly living life to his fullest, and constantly learning something new. Anyone that knew him can vouch for me when I say that he was the happiest, most loved man that ever lived.

Gone but truly never forgotten.

I love you always. Thank you for everything. You will forever be in my heart.