Memorial Day–Do We Remember?

Memorial Day always used to signal the start of summer for me. To be honest, it usually meant a jammed packed weekend of baseball games. We would play about five games in three days and just run ourselves into the ground. But throughout the years, there is so much more to this holiday then getting a day off or playing sports.

Both of my grandfathers served in the military, which I described in my Memorial Day Blog last year. Not too many other family members served in my family; however, I am learning more and more with each year, how important of a holiday Memorial Day represents.

When I was 11 years old, my mother’s father passed away. He was a veteran from WWII and Korea. I will always remember a certain moment from my papa’s funeral. We were in the car behind the hearse and driving through Shreveport, LA. And there, on the side of the rode, I saw a man saluting my papa. He did not know him; however, he saw the flag covering his coffin and knew how to respond. He remembered the importance of what he did for his country.

As I type this, I have the movie Taking Chance (2009) starring Kevin Bacon in the background. It is based on the true story of Lt. Col. Mike Strobel be the military escort of PFC Chance Phelps, who died while fighting in Iraq. All along the way, he sees some people who do not care who or why he is there, while others show the respect that someone who died for our country deserves.

There is a scene in the movie that after all the flying, they have to drive to his hometown in Wyoming. While driving, an eighteen wheel truck begins to pass the hearse when he turns on his headlights and takes off his hat. This begins the process of car after car showing the respect PFC Phelps deserved. It makes me think of my papa and that man on the side of the road.

The wife wonders why I watch this movie so much. Besides the fact I like the movie, it reminds me of all those who have paid the ultimate price so that we can remain free. So many young men and women will not make it back home to see all the lives that they touch.

Remember those who gave their lives so we can enjoy the freedom we do enjoy each day. I want to say a special thank you to the family of Christopher Katzenberger, medic in C Company who lost his life on August 9, 2005. You can read more about him and his service by clicking on his name. He is a fellow alumni from the class of 1998 from DeSmet Jesuit High School. I knew him only through school and did not cross paths after graduation. None the less, because of his service to our country, I am proud to say I went to high school with him. Thank you Chris for all you did for our country.

In honor of Memorial Day, watch this clip from a spectator who taped the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery I saw this in person once and it is quite powerful!

Changing of the Guard

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Mother’s Day–32nd and 2nd

So Mother’s Day has always been about making sure that we got mom a card and some sort of gift. I always had a random price in my head on how much I required myself to spend on her. Once my brother got to a certain age, there was the male ego always going off in my head and made me want to get the “better” present. I do not think my mother saw that at all. I think she saw two sons who were trying to go out of their way to make sure that she was appreciated.

Both my brother and I (sorry Andrew but you have to admit this) think we could have been more appreciative sons to our mother. My mom always had a house full of boys. One husband, two sons, and throughout the years a dog and two cats. ALL BOYS! She put up with a lot from us.

As I look back now on my mother’s 32nd Mother’s Day, I want to say that I have the best mom a son could have, no questions asked. Mom, you sacrificed so many things for us throughout the years so that we could have a better life. This is a woman that lets the light of Christ shine through her to her family. Thank you for always being there as we go through struggles in our life as well. When a friend of mine passed away just two years ago, the first call I made was to my mother. Why is that? I was almost 29 years old and had just gotten married and my first call was to my mother. She had been there for me through those trials before and I knew that she would be there for me again.

Thanks mom. I love you!

Now Mother’s Day to me is about experiences. I do not have to purchase that perfect present for someone. Yesterday, after coming home from work, we went to Old Town St. Charles. This is a special place for the wife and me. When we were dating and we came to St. Louis to visit, we went over to Old Town so she could do some shopping and we could meet up with old friends of mine for dinner. Well, as we are walking around through December temperatures here in Missouri, I suddenly realized something. I do not want to spend any of these moments with anyone other than this woman for the rest of my life. It was God smacking me in the head saying, “Hey, you are going to marry this woman. Who else would you go shopping with in these temperatures???”

So yesterday, after a nice late lunch, we went to one of her shops that she always has to visit when down there. She got her tea and spices to try out. She loves that type of stuff and I love trying out the samples they have in the shop. I asked her if that was all she wanted to do in St. Charles and she smiled and said yes. You could tell she did not care about the bigger item shops to purchase something nicer or more expensive. She just wanted to spend some time with her boys at a place that means so much to her. That is what she cares about, the moments that make us thankful.

I am thankful to have a wife that treasures those moments. She still got a gift from her boys, but it will not compare to that of an experience.

I love you Stephanie! Happy 2nd Mother’s Day.

First picture taken by my father after my high school graduation May 1998.

Second picture taken by Jeff Koziatek, of TallHippo Art & Photography. Check out more of his work at http://www.tallhippo.com/

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Good Friday–Greatest Friday Ever

So today is Good Friday, one of the most sacred days on the Christian calendar. It is a day in which sin thought it had conquered. A day that was dark among the believers at the time. Darkness hovered over the Earth. It was a day of sadness, at that time.

I look back on it now and I give thanks for that day. I am thankful that my Lord and Savior came down and died for ALL and for all our sins, for those who accept Him.

To be honest, growing up, I looked at this day as a day off of school (parochial and Jesuit high school). It was a day to relax and be thankful for the day off. Now I am thankful to praise Him for His death on this day.

There are two songs regarding this most self-less act I love to listen to all the time to remind me of what He did for us. The first one is from one of my all-time favorite bands, Jars of Clay. Two years ago, as we still lived in Phoenix, I went to my first ever Good Friday service (did not attend churches that had these services before). As we were finishing the emotional service at Fellowship of Grace, the worship band played this song. I have always loved this song since it came out on the SECOND album, but it hit me like a ton of bricks that night. This version is from their 11th Hour DVD, which of course I do own.

Jars of Clay–Worlds Apart

The second song I is an adaptation of an old hymn. It was written in 1707 by Issac Watts (Davie, "Baroque in the Hymn-Book,” 1992). It has been changed by several people since then; however, the only change to this song is the chorus, which was added a few years back by Chris Tomlin. This video gets to me because you see such a focus on what today is and that is the cross. It is a two-part video.

Part 1

Part 2

About 30-40 seconds into the second part, you see people RUNNING to the cross. That is what we are called to do, run to Him. No matter what we have done in our past, what He did 2,000 years ago saves us from eternal damnation. How can we not be thankful for today? For this is how we truly live!

John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (New International Version)

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Early morning lesson today

Cameron has been having some inconsistent mornings lately. Let's us sleep until about 6:30am on the weekends, 4:00am during the weeks sometimes. Either way, I get up, feed him and 9 times out of 10, he goes right back to sleep. That has allowed me some time to get in the Bible and do some reading.

Throughout my 31+ years on this Earth, I have hit every book of the Bible one time or another. I want to read it from cover to cover, in succession. I started this past week and remembered a sermon by a pastor that referred to Genesis 12. A specific verse is what he was talking about and when I re-read it at 5:15am this morning, it challenged me and shocked me even more this time around. I am referring to Genesis 12:11-13. It reads,

¹¹ As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” (Gen. 12:11-13 New International Version)

Abram, later called Abraham, is considered one of the greatest men in Christian History. His “big sin” is usually referenced to his wife, Sarai, giving him permission to have intercourse with their servant instead of trusting God to providing them a child. However, I look at this passage and it blows my mind. How could you deny knowing your wife?

His reasoning behind it does not help him either. He wanted her to say this could he could save his own tail. A crazy level of selfishness just reading this! I could never do this. My wife means way to much for me and I love her too much, right?

Looking back on my childhood, I would consider myself selfish. I wanted many things and felt like I deserved them. But things have changed. Once I got older, I began to realize we deserve ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this life and we are only saved from eternal damnation from the blood of Christ.

I have thought about this long and hard and come to this conclusion: Through the love of Christ and we are taught to walk in the same path as Him, if asked, I would in a heartbeat give my life so that my wife may live. Christ did it for us. Why can’t I?

Is it that simple. Well, yeah. I am no way saying I am equal to Christ; however, we are taught to follow Him and be like Him and if that means I have to give my life for my wife, then it is a done deal. I will go home and wait for my gorgeous bride when her time comes. God has a great plan for all of our lives and my great plan has that and more. I have a gorgeous bride and an awesome 1 year old son. I have family and friends that care about me for who God made me.

I thank God that he has got me to this point. He has led me away from selfish behavior. Abraham was a great man and who loved his God and later offered up a son for God’s satisfaction. God did not allow this to happen; however, this showed God that Abraham had grown from this event from Sarai. So I thank Abraham from this lesson and lesson learned.

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March 11, One Year Later

Well, March 11th started very early for me. I was awoken at about 1:15am and told that they were taking me downstairs as my wife was due to give birth within the hour to our baby boy. I went from dead asleep to wide awake real quick!

I got wheeled into the room and many shocking things were going on. First of all, I was being wheeled into the room on a stretcher, well because I could not do anything else after the surgery. Secondly, I see my mother and mother-in-law in the room assisting the wife through the contractions. Thirdly, I see one of my closest friends, whom I have known since I was six, in the room taking video of the birth. Emotions were running high!

My wife was simply amazing through the process. With all the stress that she was under, she had such a great strength from God and man did she have to show it.

A doctor finally arrived as we waited on our doctor to drive to the hospital. The doctor and a nurse were going back and forth over why he was not called sooner and on and on. I think all of wanted to yell at him to shut up and do your job!

Well he did his job. At 2:15am on March 11, 2011, Cameron Andrew Young was born into the world. And I quote the doctor, “Here is your toddler.” I was just excited he was here. Then came the fun news. We were waiting to see how big he was. The nurses looked at each other and then directly at me. I knew he was a big boy but how big?? Especially if the nurses are “glaring” at me?????

10 pounds, 3 ounces.

That’s right. The wife did this naturally and with all the stress of my surgery. WHAT A WOMAN!

I was able to cut the umbilical cord. Our doctor arrived about 5 minutes after the delivery. She kept apologizing but everyone did their job and we are so grateful to this day for that hospital. The worked around us and our situation. We are thankful that God put that hospital into our lives. He knew what we were going through and for us, that was the only place to be cared for properly.

I thank God each day for my wife, my son, my family, my friends, St. Clare Hospital, and most of all, to God. All we can say is, “How Great is our God.”

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March 10th, One Year Later

So as we are in the hospital waiting to be induced, I said "I do not feel very we..." That was the last thing I remembered for the next twelve hours.

I woke up just around 11am in a hospital bed and I remember asking if we had the baby yet. The told me no and what had happened. I tried to act as if I knew what happened but there was a reason I never got into acting. The doctor came in and talked to me regarding the issue and that a spot of blood was on my brain from when I passed out. Apparently, I hit my head directly on the hospital floor and that is what caused the issue. Apparently I was awake for a certain amount of time afterwards and even when they did the first CT Scan on me. To this day, I do not remember any of this.

The doctor told me they wanted to see how the brain looked now to see if the bleeding had stopped. So at about 1pm on March 10th, I went in for my second CT Scan. It took just a few minutes but I knew something was wrong. I was so incredibly nauseous that when I cam out of the scan, I told the nurses they had ten seconds to find a waste can.

As they brought me back to my room, I remember asking my father a question and I will never forget his response. I asked if I was going to have to have brain surgery. He told me, "Travis, you are not going to need brain surgery. Just sounds like a concussion. You will be fine." The way he said it, I knew he was not sure about his answer. My dad may be finding this out for the first time as he reads this; however, his response shook me to the core. When he believes something, he is certain. But, you could tell he was scared. Heck, we were all scared.

The picture above is the second CT scan. If you look at it, the clear part just to the right of the middle, is supposed to be in the middle. Also, the large lighter shade to the left (was on my right side) is the blood clot. Before, it was just a small dot of blood and had expanded to that in about 12 hours time. I of course questioned the surgery if it was necessary; however, I am glad everyone else said to do it. Whew!

Around 2pm, the doctor came in and said, "It does not look good. The bleeding has gotten much worse and we need to get in there to stop the bleeding." My mom left the room to go tell my wife and my dad lost it. However, in that moment of ultimate fear, God sent someone into our lives that calmed us down. A pastor from our church walked in and prayed with my dad and me. He read from Psalm 34. To summarize what it said, David is praising God while going through a trial. It was so incredibly relaxing to remind us to praise Him through trials and to praise Him through glory.

I had to sign a document that stated I could pass away and I would not sue the hospital. WOW! So about 3:30pm I get wheeled to where my wife is and is preparing for an arrival into the world. We prayed, we cried but we trusted that God would get us through this trial.

I went under around 4:15pm or so. Next thing I know, the doctor is feeling my feet and asking me to wiggle my toes and then my legs and then my fingers. I was trying to figure out why he would and there was no issue. Then I remembered where I was. They were making sure they did not do anything during the surgery that did damage to other nerves. I called my wife and told her I was in recovery and she seemed happy, as was I. I went back to my room that was filled with family and friends. It is overwhelming to this day to have remember that, seeing everyone who came out to support us.

I was feeling so much better. I talked to friends and family for a few hours before I had to get some sleep. I talked with Stephanie a few more times before I dozed off. Baby would be coming soon, just not sure when yet. Last thing I remember from March 10th is waking up when my brother came in from school. He slept in the same room with me, on a lovely bench in the room. It was padded but not comfortable. He did not want to miss the birth of his first nephew; however, he was there to support me as well.



Next Blog - March 11th - Wake up, we need to wheel you downstairs!!

March 9th, One Year Later

Well, so here we are, March 9th, 2011. For 29 years, it was like any other day for me. Then came March 9, 2010.

I had just turned 30 and we were planning on heading in to begin the process of welcoming our first born into the world. It was going to be about five days early than our due date; however, Cameron was going to be ready to come out according to the doctors.

So I worked at the hotel that day where I had been GM for just over a month now. I was trying to get everything taken care of before I was going to take a week off with the new baby. Everyone wished me luck and off I was.

I went home and picked the wife up, who to say the least, was excited. We were going to the airport to pick her mom up from Arkansas. Once we did that, we met my parents at a Deli for dinner. We all sat there, prayed and enjoyed our time together.

We arrived at the hospital at about 10pm to get all situated. We got to our room and her mom and my parents went home for the night. The plan was to get Stephanie started on the induction process. The drugs were going to working throughout the night and a baby would be arriving later the next day. Well, plans were to be a changing.

So, I was in and out of sleep as we waited for the nurse to come in and get the drugs going. I took the following picture at a little before 11pm while waiting before the drugs started and sleep would come over the both of us. The wife is not a huge fan of it, but it is all over Facebook so not like it has not been seen before. I love you wife!!

So, the nurse comes in and starts to get the process going. I got up and walked around to the other side of the bed. The wife is terrified of needles and wishes them all harm. They were having an issue getting the previously mentioned needle into her arm. She began to cry from the pain. I stood there and held her hand and tried to calm her down. A feeling started to come over me like I needed a soda or something with sugar. The last thing I remember is saying “I don’t feel very we…..”

Next Blog – March 10th – I just came for a baby.

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