Ladies, you are more than a gateway to life. I am truly honored to share this world with you. For me, the word “special” is an understatement when it comes to describing women. I love what you ladies do. I love who you are.

I’m sitting here, taking a break from writing drafts of the next novel, smiling, reminiscing about the first time I fell in love, and the time after that…and the time after that.

Let me share.

I had to be somewhere around the age of three. I can remember always running up to her saying, “Momma, I got to go pee.”
With the softest voice, I can remember her urging me, “Don’t wet your pants.”
My dry pants percentile is pretty high, but I haven’t quite mastered it to 100 percent.
The older I got the more I became aware of how pretty she is.
Strange that my friends knew that they had better not ever openly notice what I knew. Or it would be on.
Protecting her honor became my way of life. If you even murmured those two combustible words, “Your Momma!,” it was so on after school.
Time flies by from the day she use to look down to me to the day–today–when I look down into her familiar eyes.
I know I am in love with her. Still.

I remember checking out the other lady in the house. I watched her every morning putting on this same blue dress.
When she calls my name, I stop whatever I’m doing to hook these four little loops and I don’t know why.
She wears a name tag different than Ma’Dear. Yes I’m a little confused but I don’t make any waves.
I see her barley able to walk one morning and ask, “Why you leaving and you’re sick?”
“Son. Always do what you have to do.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
I walk away.
There’s one more mature woman with a head full of gray hair.
I think she’s in charge of my official love committee.
All throughout the day, she is kissing me, hugging me, and holding me tight.
I don’t think she knows my name, because she always calls me Pretty Boy.
When it comes to keeping the belt off my rear end from my love and MaDear, she does a great job.

I remember one Saturday evening.
I pulled up to Skate City with my boys who wanted to go to the adult club. But I convinced them to stop there first. (Best thing I did in my life.)
And at the age of seventeen, I cheat on my love for the first time, with a cute young lady I met that night

She becomes my wife.

Fearing her response after the wedding, I waited as she whispers in my ear, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing.”
After two years of marriage, we are expecting. I look for all kinds of baby boy stuff.
I can’t wait to see a mini me.
Someone to carry my name.
But…
Well, God decided I needed to start my family off right, honoring me to love a baby girl.
At the moment she pops out, it’s love
at first sight…again.

–Kenneth