Alexis,

First of all, congratulations on marrying the best woman in the world, my mom. She is, as you know already, the most down to earth, smart, funny, and most beautiful woman you could ever meet. So you chose well. Congrats.

But aside from me telling you all that mumbo-jumbo about treating her well, because I know you will, I want to thank you for everything you've done for me thus far, and I want to thank you in advance for everything else.

Ever since my parents got divorced, I craved a strong father figure, but my dad became more of the happy-go-lucky, "no rules at Dad's house" kind of guy, which was completely fine, it just wasn't what I wanted or needed in my life.

When we first met, I didn't hate you at all, but I didn't know how to feel either. You were very strong in your standing, yet fun and playful. We didn't really get close until recently, but you always offered me solid advice anyway.

The role that you've played in my life thus far, even though mostly in the background, has been so instrumental to my upbringing. Knowing in the back of my mind that I have you to fall on when anything goes wrong has been extremely comforting, especially to a high school teenager who was going through some stuff.

So thank you, as I said in my wedding speech, for being a constant rock in my ever-changing life. Thank you for expressing your pride in me and for outwardly showing your love to me. Thank you for all of the fun Disney trips and the rides to school my accompanied by tequeños and café con leche.

I'm so glad I get to have you in my life permanently, so thank you for marrying my mom, and thank you for being the best stepdad. I love you.

x

Mary Beth