¨Wow, Jose what a beautiful family!¨

Many of his clients tell him when they meet my family and I. Monday through Friday he works his butt off to give my family and I what is necessary. Just by looking into those tired bags underneath his chocolate brown colored eyes, you can easily notice the challenges he  has overcame.  The age appears on his tanned worned out face. He is 38 years old , with white hairs appearing on his head. He is hardworking,helpful and a determined father.

My father comes from un rancho called ¨El Cobrero” in Michoacan, Mexico. He would wake up in his 2 bedroom home with his older brother, 5 older sisters, 2 younger twin sisters, his father and mother.  He would wake up right after the sound of his alarm: the shouting roosters, very early in the morning. The three guys in the family would start the day off working on their crops  in the blistering outside. All of them including my father, to take care of their big family. While grandma would sell objects she could find, from bubblegum to peanuts in festivities and the girls would go to school. Then, at age 14 my father hit a hard moment in life. He lost his mother. His oldest sisters and brother had gotten married and/or came to live in Chicago, except my father. He stayed in Mexico taking care of his younger sister. At age 17 he came to the US where he would try his best to find any job possible, for example he worked cleaning dirty, smelly horse stables. Like any other person in Mexico wanting to live that ¨American Dream¨.   

At age 20 he got married to my beautiful mother, and lived in Elgin. One year later they were blessed with a joyful, hazel-eyed baby girl, Jaclyn. Still part-time working in a ranch and the other in landscaping. Working with a landscaping company he learned many techniques. He and my mother started off with a very small red car, and living in a one bedroom apartment. My parents, mostly my dad, just wanted a boy after Jaclyn and then they would be done. But that didn't happen, they were once again blessed with an adorable girl, Josefina. My father then decided he needed a better job so they moved to Prospect. Once again, he wanted his baby boy… and once again they had a chubby cheeked with big rounded eyes baby girl, Brenda. With the techniques he learned in his past landscaping jobs he decided to start his own landscaping company in Mundelein, IL. Even though he was learning to speak english he still gave it a shot since there was a fourth baby coming, me a chubby baby girl. He still keeps in touch with his very first client that helped out my family a lot. Since he has most of his clients in Libertyville, whenever we pass by he says,¨Iren yo antes en esa casa cortaba la casa y me las llevaba para que me ayudaran a levantar los palitos, y los dueños les daban fruta y jugos¨. He has done his best  he could to better the lives of my sisters and I. 4 years later my dad told my mother once again that he wanted a baby boy, this fourth time he did get the baby boy he wanted. My father was so excited he looked exactly liked him a very dark skinned baby boy named Jose Manuel Jr. like my dad.  I remember being small and  when lunch time would come my mom would start packing lunch for him and then we would go have lunch with my hardworking father. Seeing him sweaty and tired made me appreciate him even more. His landscaping job he was very successful, even though he at first didn’t know much english.

He always says¨Yo no las estoy reganando solo quiero que nada mal les pase¨. Living with four teenagers wasn’t so easy. We would want to go to parties and hangout with friends but my father wouldn't usually approve of that. He would always say that he wanted the best for my sisters and I. Saying he has been through life and knows much about life. Like any other lessons he has showed us, he taught my sisters and I to respect and respect ourselves. My oldest sister now is 19 years old and made some not so good decisions, that we all learned from. He wants us to be successful and accomplish any goals we have. He says, ¨Quiero que sean alguien importante en la vida, y sus deseos se vuelvan realidad.” He gives his all to understand his 4 daughters and son. Through all the challenges he has overcome, from losing his mother at age 14 and starting from the bottom working on his way to the top he never lost his determination. He is my role model.