06/15/2025
Every year, I ask my dad what he wants for Father’s Day. And every year, his answer is the same: “I just want a hug. Nomás un abrazo.”
That’s my dad. He’s always been the most powerful example in my life of humility, grit, and quiet strength. Growing up, I watched him work a full 9-to-5 shift — and then come home, only to keep working. No golf. No guy weekends. No hobbies. His free time wasn’t spent on leisure — it was spent building.
One of those projects was transforming our garage into two extra bedrooms. I was his right hand. We’d work late into the night — sometimes until 1 a.m., even on school nights — cutting wood, holding flashlights, learning how to make something from nothing. Trying to find that one tool that he swore was where he left it- but it was never there lol. Those nights were exhausting. And they were everything.
And it wasn’t just the hammer and nails — he still made time to coach me and my siblings’ school teams, to show up, to cheer, to guide. We were his hobbies. His life’s passion. Alongside my mom — both of them immigrants from Mexico 🇲🇽 — they built a home where family wasn’t just important, it was sacred. That foundation is in every one of us.
So this Father’s Day, I thought about what would truly bring him joy. And I knew: it wasn’t a gift, it wasn’t a card. It was time. Time spent side-by-side, working the land, building something together. Just like the old days. En su tierra.
He always jokes, “¿Para qué vas al gimnasio? Ven a mi casa, trabajas gratis y haces músculo.” (Why go to the gym? Come work for free at my house and build some muscle.) That’s him. Always half-joking, always all heart.
With everything going on lately, I just wanted to say gracias, Pop. It hasn’t been easy. And the amnesty of ’86 may have opened a door for us — but you’re the one who taught me how to walk through it with my head down, hands steady, and spirit high. You never took a single thing for granted.
You showed me how to build. Not just rooms — but a life worth living.
Happy Father’s Day. Te quiero mucho.
