This Friday the Albert Lea Tribune is putting out a special section called &8220;Woman in Business.&8221;

This section will highlight a few of Freeborn County’s working woman as they deal with business, careers and life.

So with that theme in mind I want to highlight and give praise to the women in my life.

I think the easiest way to start is at the top. My wife, Bonnie, is both my soul mate and my best friend. I have watched for many years as she has patiently and lovingly guided not only our three children through all of the problems of adolescence and beyond, but also how she has dealt with the loss of her father and the day-to-day worries that she has with both her mother and her brother who are ill.

My wife is an angel, who with an unbelievable sense of humor and a huge heart, has transformed me into a better person by just being able to see and act like her.

In life, it is said if you can find one person that makes you better and helps you grow to be who you should be, then hold on to that person and never let them go. Well I certainly found that person and I am not letting go. Bonnie, I love you.

Close to my beautiful wife there happens to be a little red-haired girl named Tayler Rae.

Tayler is my daughter and this little girl happens to have her big old dad pretty well wrapped around her finger, and you know what? I think she knows it.

Many little girls seem to chip out a piece of their dad’s hearts and keep it all to themselves.

Tayler is no different &045; from the time I first laid eyes on her until my dying day, this girl will have Dad in her corner all the way. Tayler, I love you.

Now at this point in my column you are probably thinking one of two things:

–

Wow, this guy is really well trained and I would like to buy Bonnie’s book on training husbands 101.

OR

–

I am in trouble and trying to make amends to my wife and family in some way.

Well, both answers are wrong, although I will admit that my wife has done some training, or the seat to the bathroom toilet would still be up.

My training in how to treat women started pretty young as I have a great mother and three sisters.

My mother Marilyn (or maybe was it one bathroom and six kids) taught me patience and perseverance. She is a wonderful lady who instilled some great values in me while raising a family of three boys and three girls through different states and countries.

You see we were all Army brats and with my dad either training soldiers or at war, my mom was left to field her own army at home. Mom, thanks for putting up with me. I love you.

My sisters are all older than me and they taught me to treat woman with respect or I would get smacked, sometimes hard, by my sister Cindi, the oldest of our family. Now a lovely woman with three children, she would keep us in line by either firing a BB gun at us or smacking us across the head.

My other sisters, Kathy and Teresa, taught me kindness and how to hide from Cindi.

In later years Teresa and Kathy proved to be excellent partners in water balloon fights and again, hiding from Cindi.

I learned many things from my sisters growing up: with Teresa I learned how to be competitive and not let up, from Kathy I learned my love of music, and of course, from Cindi how to fight.

All three over the years have all taught me love of family and sticking together and I want to say to all of them I love you.

So in short I just want you to see that behind every

man stands a better woman waiting for us to screw up, so they can set us straight.