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Spring Is Coming Soon!Get your yard ready with our top-notch irrigation and landscape services.BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION$200 OFF Any Project!Valued at $2,000 or More (Exclusions Apply).Call Today!(210) 791-6788 admin@benitezirrigation.comwww.benitezirrigation.comLet Me Call You SweetheartBy Sonny MelendrezIf there is one term of endearment that will always bring a rush of warm memories of my mom, it is what she called my brother Rick and me all our lives: sweetheart.This will be our third Valentine’s Day without her, but certainly not without her spirit.As a little boy, I would say “Balentine” instead of Valentine and from then on, we’d laugh when she asked, “Will you be my Baaalentine?!”For as long as we can remember, Rick and I would receive an anonymous card in the mail each year, postmarked “Valentine, Texas.”It would be decades before we realized they were sent by the one who loved us most!When I was 10 years old, I entered my first radio contest, with Mom’s help.Every afternoon, the host on WOAI Radio would chat with a listener, (an adult listener) asking them to talk about themselves and then awarding a prize, usually movie passes.I wanted those tickets.It seemed like every time I tried to dial in, the line was busy.Until, one day, it rang.I quickly handed the phone to my mom. She looked at me and said, “Sweetheart,I don’t know what to say!”I Spy With MyLittle Eye...ContestPBy Sally Kaloslease look carefully on each and every page, scanning up and down, left and right, from front toback, and then back to front. Don’t give up! If you can find cupid you’ll be entered into a drawing to win $50! Just email the page number and location where you spotted cupid to contest@highlightspub.com.The deadline is February 9, 2025.“Don’t worry mom, just answer the questions.”And so, my mom made her radio debut as her sweet voice filled the airwaves across South Texas. As the conversation ended, Mom was asked to share her favorite song.“Stardust by Nat King Cole,” she softly replied.She was given the passes, said goodbye and the song began to play.“Thanks Mom! You were great!”“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”Little did she know that this would be thefirst of many future broadcast appearances, on my radio shows, both here in San Antonio and in Los Angeles, as I would often share, with listeners, our conversations on special occasions, including her birthday, Mother’s Day, Christmas and yes, Valentine’s Day.Each of those calls would end the same way.“I love you mom.”“I love you, too, sweetheart!”Sonny Melendrezis an award-winningmotivational speaker,Hall of Fame radio/TV host and author,based in San Antonio.For more of his enthusiastic brand of inspiration and speaking information, visit www.SonnyMelendrez.com and listen to his podcast.Enrolling now for the 2025-2026 school year!*Preschool thru Eighth Grade *Shorter Days *Experience- based learningLearn More Here!Learn more at www.marvelouslymadeschool.comWe’re growing! Discover other ways to connectwith the Marvelously Made community.Wehopeyou’llhavefunwithourversion of a mini-scavenger hunt within our pages. Good luck!Congratulations to our DecemberI Spy winner Margi FischerFebruary 2025www.heloteshighlights.com 5