Phoenix Part 12- Trip to New Orleans and a trip to St. Louis that was 100% meant for Father's Day

So it was just after my 29th birthday in February 2009 and my wife and I left for New Orleans. I was going there for our 2009 GM Conference. She was coming because almost all of my extended family lives in Louisiana. A lot of them were not able to come to the wedding so a huge blessing that the GM conference was in New Orleans.

We stayed with my dad's mom in New Orleans two nights and my mom's mom in Shreveport for one night. I had not seen them in years so it was great to see them as well as introduce Stephanie to them.

We had a blast hanging out downtown when I was not in meetings and Stephanie loved walking around shopping when I was in meetings. We ate a lot of great food (We have tried making beignets a few times since and it is just not the same) and saw a lot of historical sites.

After our conference had ended, we took a trip with a buddy of mine and fellow GM with some family friends around where Hurricane Katrina had devastated the city. We took no pictures because pictures were not needed or desired. It was crazy to see the destruction that was still there 3.5 years later. Blocks and blocks of empty homes, destroyed homes. I saw my great aunt house in the lower ninth ward. It was crazy just to be down in the area knowing what had happened and the lives that were changed and even lost. My great aunt has been from home to home after the hurricane before getting settled in a retirement community, where she is today.

We got back from New Orleans and everything went back to normal. We decided to go to St. Louis for Father's Day to spend some time with my side of the family. I had remembered to email the HR Director at my friend's company and did so letting her know I would be in town. She agreed to a time to meet.

We got into town on a Wednesday night and I met with the HR Director on that Thursday afternoon. I thought it was just going to be a chance to get my name out there and if something came up down the road, they would let me know. She let me know that a position had just opened up within the past week for a Manager on Duty position at their busiest hotel right across the street from Busch Stadium. She wanted me to go meet with their HR Director the following day, which I did.

I had a total of three interviews for the position while I was there. We came back to Phoenix and had two more phone interviews when I got back. Just after the 4th of July, I got an offer on the job. Stephanie was leaving the following day for Little Rock to visit her mom. After a few days of talks, I agreed to the position on a Friday afternoon. I called Stephanie to tell her and she was stoked and glad that we were able to work things out. She wanted to trump my news and man did she!

Phoenix Part 13- The time has come to say goodbye and oh yeah, the news!!!

What is home?

Today was an interesting day. I went to Best Buy to get a radio for my office at work. After leaving Best Buy, I stopped by a gym that partners with our hotel so the guests can work out there for free. I got the tour of the whole place, and became interested on how much it would cost for me to be a member.

As I was leaving, I saw someone that looked familiar and we looked at each other in shock. It was a buddy of mine from grade school and whom I played baseball against in high school. He was a personal trainer at the gym we work with and his older brother runs the gym too. I sat and talked with them for quite awhile catching up on things. It had been maybe about 15 years since I last saw him.

As I was leaving and we told each other we would contact each other soon, he said something to me that struck me. He told me, "Oh and welcome home Travis." I had told him I moved to Phoenix for a few years where I met my wife and got into a "career" and had moved back at the end of July. It got me thinking, What is home?

I remember last June when I was in for Father's Day. I had interviewed with what became my new company a few weeks later. This song kept going through my head. The song is Home by Switchfoot. There is a line in the song that always strikes me and I almost lose it listening to it.
It goes:

And now after all
My searching
After all my questions
I'm gonna call it home
I got a brand new mindset
I can finally see
The sunset
I'm gonna call it home

I was thinking, being from St. Louis, this is where God has led me and my wife, and soon to be son. My wife and I did not feel led to stay in Phoenix, as good as the town had been to us. Stephanie really wanted to move to St. Louis; however, I thought it was her head leading her over our hearts. Man was I wrong. She was God showing me where we supposed to go.

Being in St. Louis these past 7+ months has showed me where home is, and no it is not St. Louis. It is the people that surround you and love you. And the person who loves you the most in this life is not your wife or husband or mother or father. They may love you like crazy and with their whole hearts, but it is the tiniest amount compared to how much our Father in heaven loves you. He is the father that can show you your eternal home, which is where I belong.

Switchfoot's chorus for Home is:

This is home
Now I'm finally
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching
For a place of my own
Now I've found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

I have no doubt that this job (now jobs) that have come about for me here in St. Louis was God's answer to many prayers from several people, I am sure my mom is in that crowd. The question is though, Where is your home? Is it a place? Is it with someone you deeply love?

One day we are all going to pass from this life. All of the possessions we have earned and all the awards will stay here. We are going to be asked by the Father above a series of questions. When He asks me those questions, I cannot wait for the moment he tells me "Welcome home my good and faithful son."

Phoenix Part 7: Washington D.C. and a special trip to St. louis

So after going through these times of challenges, I had to head to Washington D.C. for SpringHill Suites and Marriott Training for three weeks. It was wild to be gone that long but it was very exciting. I had never been to D.C. before and was excited to check out all of the history as well as learning more about the brand I was representing.

There were a total of four people in our class and three of those people , including me were from the same management company in Phoenix. We had talked to each other a few times previously but did not know a whole lot of each other. I think if you asked them now that they know I am a die-hard Cardinals fan as there were many days after class I would go grab dinner and head home to watch the Cardinals on the laptop. It was a way to stay connected to my great baseball hometown!

If you have never been to Washington D.C., I HIGHLY recommend you go. We did not have class on the weekends so we took advantage and hit up as much as we could while we were there. We saw the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the somewhat new WWII Memorial and the reflecting pond. After the Lincoln Memorial, we hit the Vietnam Memorial. Talk about powerful! They let people go about one hundred at a time after hearing a two minute speech on how the monument came to be. As we walked through, it was DEAD silence. You heard some crying there are still many families touched by the war. Very moving memorial.

The following weekend we took a trip to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. Another GM and myself took a boat up and down the Potomac River and toured everything over there. We also went to Arlington National Cemetery. I walked ahead of the group as they moved a little slower. I went to the JFK Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial and saw the resting place of on other president, William Taft. However, if you ever go, please see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Every thirty minutes when they do the changing of the guard many gather to watch. I am pretty sure that when they do the Changing of the Guard, there is not a dry eye in the house.

So after three weeks of history and Marriott information embedded in me, I returned to Phoenix. Stephanie and myself were still dating and I think people were starting to ask when the question was going to be asked to her. I was still waiting for that special sign from God to know this was going to be the one for me. I was starting to "lean" that way when he smacked me upside the head.

Stephanie came to St. Louis with me for Christmas in 2007 and started to see why I am so partial to this town. We did the "touristy" things (i.e. the St. Louis Arch, Anheuser Busch or InBev tour, and of course had to show off the Cardinals Stadium and buy some Cardinals apparel.) However, the moment were God smacked me was technically not in St. Louis.

It was in St. Charles, MO. We were walking down Old Town St. Charles near the Missouri river in about 28 degrees weather with a nice wind chill going too. We were waiting to meet friends for dinner at Trailhead Brewery and Stephanie was loving these old shops. The shops range from spices to crafts to art to dog treat shops. We must have hit six or seven, mainly to get out of the cold. However, I sat there and said to myself, "If I am willing to walk down from shop to shop with this woman in this type of weather, I must really Love her." THUNK! There it was. God telling me, "You finally got it! DING DING DING!" Amazing how He works!

Phoenix Part 8: From St. Louis to the Cotton Bowl to the Super Bowl to a sad/unbelieveable 24 hour period in February.

Phoenix Part 1: You want to move where????

So just over five years ago in October of 2004, I was working for the River City Rascals minor league baseball team in O'Fallon, MO. We had a great core of workers and had worked together for a few years at that point. It was the day after the Cardinals were swept in the World Series by a certain team from Boston and was still recovering from the series when my boss pulled us together mid morning and told us he was leaving the organization for a team in the Golden Baseball League.

Over the next few weeks, we were talking about who would take over or if any of us would go. I was a single man at the time and was a perfect candidate to go as well. However, a few issues came about. 1. I had not been asked (yet) to go. 2. I was a Missouri boy. Born and raised in the great St. Louis, a graduate of the University of Missouri and my family and friends were here. How could I leave here?!?!

I had talked to my my boss who was leaving, Matt Jones and he was working out the budget and would let me know if there would be a spot for me. Just after Thanksgiving, he mentioned that he wanted me to go out there with the team. I was grateful to be asked but leaning towards staying. I had never been to Phoenix and just associated Phoenix with snakes and if you know Travis, snakes are NOT friends of mine!!

My mom wanted me to stay and of course kept mentioning the snakes to keep me here. I talked to several people through the process of this. I finally sat down and just prayed and felt God saying GO!!

So I was going. I told my folks and friends and got a mixed reaction. "Going to Phoenix? You know it is HOT there???" "The winters there are gorgeous!" Both of these I verified while living there!

I spent the last few weeks doing going away parties for those of us leaving, relaxing with family and preparing for a life changing event! I stayed with my folks on my last night in St. Louis and the next morning, had breakfast and stood in the kitchen I grew up in and caused a lot of chaos. I did not know what to do and lost it. I hugged my father and mother. Before my little brother left for school I hugged him too. I got into the car and drove away from home to a place I had never been.

Who knew that I had been doing that all my life? How many times do little decisions end up changing your life forever? Do we realize these changes? From changing majors in college from business management to sports management and recreation led to the River City Rascals, which led to moving to Phoenix which led to...

Oh we will see what it led to.

Next up: Phoenix Part 2: How do we react outside of our comfort zone??