When Ryan talks about the home Don and Patti built, he remembers a decision his father made during his years with Walmart. Don had worked his way up. As Ryan recalls it, the next opportunities would have meant more moves and more time away from home.
Patti spoke up about what those demands would mean for their family. Ryan remembers her making clear that being together mattered. In his telling, Don listened and left the job.
“He chose the family over money.”
Years later, Ryan describes that choice plainly: "He chose the family over money." What stayed with their son was having his father there as he grew up.
This is Ryan's memory of a turning point in his parents' marriage. He remembers both of them in it: Patti saying what their family needed, and Don making a decision that put those needs first.