Memories of a Friend

I found out this morning of the loss of Alex Moore. Alex is someone I had not talked to in several years. I had run into his mother a few years ago right about the time I was interviewing to come back to St. Louis. I have been thinking about the fun times we all had through high school and into our college years.

We attended the same church and went on many different trips together with our church. There was one trip that we always remind me of the type of person that Alex was.

I had just lost a very close friend of mine. I remember going to church that night in shock and just feeling horrible. We sat around and talked about our friend we had just lost. The funeral was set for later that week in Michigan, where his family lived. Alex knew I wanted to go. He knew my friend who passed but wanted to do more than go to the funeral. He offered to drive me to and from the funeral. He knew I was in no shape to drive to such a traumatic event for a 20 year old to experience. When we got there, he sat with myself and our friends’ family to all hours of the night talking about him. I will still remember us sitting at Steak ‘N Shake talking about him and laughing.

That single event encompasses Alex. He cared for others and wanted to help anyway he could during their time of trouble. He had such an infectious laugh too. He had the laugh that he laughed with his WHOLE body and it made others laugh.

I grieve for Alex’s friends and family today. I know he is upstairs with our Father not walking with Him, but running with Him. Probably challenging him to a run or bike ride. Our prayers are with you Rick, Jo, Erin and Adrienne.

Easter 2012

So, I was outside today doing yard work. We have actually put a pretty solid effort into the yard this year with Stephanie growing a vegetable garden and I am  getting grass to grow where a tree once stood in the backyard. Doesn’t sound like much but looks different! Ask our neighbors.

I was nearing the end of raking the excess grass up when a song I was listening to on my phone stopped me in my tracks. God has a funny way of doing that, doesn’t He? The song is by the artist Steven Curtis Chapman. I have been a fan of his for quite sometime, even when he was in his mullet phase.

The Chapman’s have three children of their own. They also have adopted three other children from China and made it a passion of theirs to try let others know about the importance of adoption. He has been working in Christian music for over 20 years. He has won Granny awards and many Dove Awards. None of that seemed to matter on a day in May a few years back.

The Chapman’s youngest biological son accidentally ran over their youngest adopted daughter in his car as she ran to greet him as he came home for the day. Steven Curtis Chapman drove her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. They then had to bury their daughter and were grief stricken.

Now, I have never experienced this type of loss in my life. I have no idea what I would do if something like this would ever happen to me. But as I sat there and listened to this song in our backyard nearly breaking down, it made perfect sense to me, especially on this holiest of weekends, Easter. God had to send His one and only Son to die for each and every one of us. He rose three days later and conquered death and sin.

We all go through different trials in our lives and different pains. We go through losses and challenges that make us question or faith and our God. But from listening to Steven Curtis Chapman and this song, it is okay to hurt. But know this: God’s got your back! He will always be there for you. He went through this same unimaginable pain that the Chapman’s went through and He still sits on high watching out for us and comforting us through our own tragedies.

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote this song before the accident and then changed the last verse after the accident. It is very powerful. Please listen and remember all that you see and all that we go through, “It’s all Yours God.”

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Year in Review - 2011

Another year in the books. A lot of things took place this past year. Here is a general list of things that happened throughout the year

January – I had my general manager’s conference in San Francisco and the wife joined me for the first few days. It was our first trip to San Francisco for each of us. It is quite a town. We did some major walking and sightseeing each day while we were there. We saw Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, rode the Cable Cars and of course, Stephanie had her In-‘N-Out Burger. Not a fan but the wife is and we made it there on our second try. We did find out some unfortunate news while we were there my my great aunt passed away. I was not close to her but had the privilege to introduce her to Cameron a few months after he was born.

February – Found out what a GM in the lovely Midwest has to do during a winter storm. I was camped out for two days at the hotel. The wife was not a huge fan of that part of the gig; however, she still supported and understood why I had to do it. Had my 31st birthday as well.

March – Cameron’s first birthday. We had a crazy first year with him and all that happened with us. It was a fun time for him and he got to dig into his first birthday cake as well. It was quite the entertainment. I know that he had very little clue what was going on. It was pretty cool seeing all the friends and family come over and celebrate. It was fairly emotional for Cameron’s parents with all that had happened. I am grateful for every day I have after our story. I am grateful that I get to watch my son grown up and have the chance to teach him many things my father taught me. Thank you God!

April – July – Family and work consumed me during these months. Between audits, birthdays, and my second father’s day, it seemed like there was hardly any downtime. We did make a trek across the state for two reasons. Stephanie loved a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix and we saw that they had the restaurant in Kansas City. What makes it an even better day trip was because my brother was working out there with his company. So we went and had lunch with him out there and came back to St. Louis. The other major event was… Cameron’s first baseball game! Many thanks to our friend Kristi for the tickets. We had great seats and came soooo close to seeing a perfect game. We had a blast and got to see a Cardinals victory.

August – Well, I am glad that we made that trip to see him. Found out my brother was taking a job down in Florida with his company. I felt the same way that I am sure he felt when I left to move to Phoenix. We all agree that was absolutely the right decision (see wife, child, job, friends, etc.); however, it is still tough. It was a fairly swift and abrupt departure but he made his way down there near the end of August.

September – Fairly uneventful. Brother had just moved and I was preparing for an audit. Oh I guess there was one other thing. Early in the month, the wife came to me asking me to read a certain test. I told her to take another, and another. And then to go purchase the expensive test. Then we had a doctor’s appointment. Okay, time to accept it! Baby number two is on the way. We told our families and as many friends as we could before we did the official announcement: FACEBOOK!

October – We took a much needed vacation driving across our gorgeous country. We went to Washington D.C. for just about a week. We got to stay with a good buddy from college in Columbus, Ohio before we made it to our nation’s capitol. Before we got there, we made a brief detour to where Flight 93 went down on September 11, 2001. It is in the middle of nowhere! It was quite the drive but worth it. It was emotional to be where one of the planes went down on that tragic day. Once we arrived in DC, we went to where the plane went down at the Pentagon, followed by Arlington National Cemetery. Not the most positive day, but a day we will remember from our trip. We saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, JFK’s gravesite and a newer area I had not seen before. Section 60. It is the section where those who have been killed in action from the recent conflicts. I saw a family member crying on the gravesite of a loved one. You see some of the graves and how young those who died were. To see family members coming out after recently losing a loved one from serving our country, quite emotional.

I could go on and on about the trip; however, the next major event was: GAME 7 OF THE 2011 WORLD SERIES. We got tickets way in the bleachers and they were awesome seats. Once again, Kristi came through giving us the opportunity to purchase tickets and thanks to my folks for the early Anniversary present! We enjoyed every minute of it and when it ended, our Cardinals came up on top, many thanks to the local kid David Freese. What a night. Just being there for a game seven is one thing. Seeing your team come out on top, is astonishing. We collected pieces of confetti, fireworks, ticket stubs, etc. I have been to many Cardinal games in my life; this is one of the top three ever!

November – We had to breath a little after a busy October. We got to celebrate Thanksgiving with my parents and my brother. It was a great day to give thanks for everything we have been given. The wife made a magnificent dinner for us all. We finished the month by heading down to Phoenix to visit friends. We had not seen these people since we left in July 2009. It was so great to see everyone that we could. We know we missed a few people; however, we are grateful for all of our friends we did get to see. Special thanks to Steve for opening up his home to us and to Rick for allowing us to use his car. Meant so much to us all.

December – We came back from Phoenix early in the month. We then introduced Cameron tree leaves and how much fun they could be. He took to it. He had a blast in the leaves and made both of us laugh for quite sometime. We celebrated Christmas over here with my parents. Another great meal from the wife and had more fun watching Cameron unwrap presents. Holy cow did he have fun! Stephanie’s mom made it in as well and got to watch him go nuts over Christmas presents. Even though her time was short here, it was still good to celebrate the season with her as well.

To sum it up, it was a wild year. Many ups and downs and we trusted God throughout them all. 2012 has a lot in store for us. Happy New year to all!

Technorati Tags: 2011,thankful,2012

Christmas Time–A time of Gratitude and Reflection

Christmas was always the most fun time of the year for us growing up. Whether it was hoping for a white Christmas or just not being in school, it was great!

Our family always had the same rituals. We would go to church the night before. We would try and do an earlier service and then get something to eat. Sometimes we would head down to Union Station to eat at a restaurant downtown. If we were lucky, the fudge factory would be going singing and making fudge.

We would get home and would be able to open one present the night before. My brother and I would actually be patient to see which would be the right present to open. Of course, we had scouted it out for the past 24 hours.

The next morning, my brother and I were ready to go! We were extremely patient and be quietly waiting in our rooms to hear the trigger to come downstairs. We were silent and in reflection of all that we had been blessed with. Okay, maybe that was in some crazy alternative universe. We were usually at the top of the stairs and when we heard the Christmas music play, we would race downstairs. Being almost 8 years older than my brother, I would usually lead the charge, see picture to the left. (I apologize to all regarding the Oklahoma Sooners t-shirt. I have nothing to say for that.)

Our favorite family movie was A Christmas Story. We watched it as much as possible and I still laugh to this day over those stupid dogs that chase the old man around. One year, my father did what Ralphie’s father did with the Red Rider BB Gun. Accept with me, it was a baseball bat I had been wanting. When all the presents were open, he had this smile on his face. He pointed to a closet in the hallway and I went over there and saw an oddly shaped present in the closet. To this day, it makes me smile.

The years have gone by since those days. I have moved to Phoenix and back. We have celebrated Christmas in Phoenix to keep the traditions going. The first time my wife ever came to St. Louis, we flew in Christmas night just to see my family on Christmas. The year I got married was the first year we were not around each other on Christmas. I had just gotten married and had been home a few weeks beforehand. It was an unusual feeling. The wife and I went to San Diego to celebrate the holiday and had our first Christmas dinner as a married couple: Carl’s Jr. or Hardees to the Midwesterners. Sadly, this is a tradition we have kept. The Christmas’s since then, we have had Hardees at some point. Sounds crazy and NOT healthy, but it reminds us of our first Christmas together.

This year will be unusual, especially for my parents. This is their first Christmas with my brother not able to join us. He has moved this year to Ft. Meyers, FL. We talk nearly on a daily basis and hope and pray he can enjoy the holiday. I am sure we will be sending him pictures and video of his 21 month year old nephew tearing into some presents!

It gets me to think though. They call it the most wonderful time of the year. For some people though it is very tough. Whether there may be a family member who has died or families are not together by choice or by other circumstances. It can be the most CHALLENGING time of the year for some. All I can say for encouragement is to remember those who are not with you. Celebrate that they have made a footprint in your life that you miss them this time of year. I think we would all would loved to be remembered like that one day.

My mom gave me a CD one year for Christmas. One song is pretty tough to hear without getting emotional. It reminds us of a group of people that cannot be home for Christmas; however, I think it works for all of us that cannot celebrate Christmas with all our loved ones. It is Josh Groban’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas.

Salute to our Troops

May God Bless you all and have a very Merry Christmas.

Technorati Tags: Christmas,Reflection,Encouragement

Ode to My Wife

Well, today marks my wife’s 30++ Birthday. We have just found out that our second child on the way will be another boy. She has become a part of the Young family tradition. My father has two brothers. His oldest brother has two boys and his two boys have a combined three boys and one girl (the only girl). My dad had two boys and we are now working on our second boy. My dad’s youngest brother has three boys. If you are trying to count that is a total of 15 boys against one girl.

Anyway, I am quite thankful for my bride. She has become an outstanding mother to Cameron and no doubt that baby number two will receive the same blessings as Cameron. It has been an adventure time with Cameron, since his birth; however, she has been the leader on what to do when it comes to handling him. Sometimes when she asks for me to do something for Cameron, I may think in my head to hesitate; however, I know there is a reason for it. Even if that reason is to let her breath for a minute, then I need to make it happen. I learn something new everyday from her on how to handle parenthood.

We started dating on September 20, 2006. That’s right, I remember the date! She has dealt with several of my vices. One would be sports. She has turned into a big time St. Louis Cardinals fan, mainly because of me. A month after we started dating, the Cardinals were making their run at the 2006 World Series. She was trying to figure out why I was wearing the same sweatshirt and why I watched the games by myself. Welcome to the world of a superstitious sports fan. This year as the Cardinals won the World Series again, she was an old pro at things. She got to enjoy this World Series with me as we were at Game Seven of the World Series.

Another vice of mine: Work. A lot of times I will take work home with me or spend a few extra hours a week at work. It does come with the territory of being a hotel General Manager. You get called it at odd hours of the night. It can be a frustrating issue, but a necessary issue. She has accepted it with a TON of grace. As long as work does not replace family as the priority in our lives, she is okay with the job requirements.

Each day we are together, I see more and more we were meant to be. Whether it being her acceptance of my vices or the fact we get emotional over the same things. I realized that one night back in 2008. We had been engaged for a few months and were watching the DOVE awards, the Christian music world Grammy’s. As we were watching a song came on that dealt with the struggles she was going through (no the struggles were not getting married to me). After she left and went home, I know that was a sign from God that she was meant for me. I get emotional over some songs I hear as well. I always thought that when I got married, I would have to explain to the woman I married why I cry over random songs. Now I don’t. She knows. That is just who she is. She understands and loves me for who I am, just like our Father above.

To end this, of course, a song. This was played at our wedding by the recording artist himself. It was a fun wedding present for my wife to have this song played at our wedding. I love you Stephanie.

She–Radial Angel

Picture one taken by Erik Van Duyn, 2006.

Picture taken at our rehearsal dinner, 2008. No idea who took it.

Picture three taken by Kristi Yehling at Cameron’s First baseball game, May 2011.

Video taken at our wedding by Erik Van Duyn, November 15, 2008.

Where were you?

I know everyone is thinking back where they were ten years ago today. I am one of those people who was watching everything unfolding and left in shock.

I was on my way to campus at the University of Missouri – Columbia with my roommate. We were heading to campus as he had class early. We were listening to the radio just after 8am our time and heard two planes had crashed in the World Trade Center. I went to the library to see what was going on and was watching everything unfold on television. I remember trying to get online to access the news websites (MSNBC, CNN, etc.) and they were overloaded and not coming up. I remember watching the towers come down on a 13 inch television in the library with about 100 other students. Then we started to wander around campus. Classes were being cancelled. I called home and was talking with my parents. We had a friend who had just graduated from Mizzou who had gone to New York City and we could not get ahold of him. Later we found out he was about 20 blocks away from the devastation there.

All sporting events were cancelled for that week. Airports were shut down. Our country was in lockdown. No one was going anywhere.

Eventually things started to get back to normal; however, we are now referred to as living in a post-9/11 society. We seem to be in a place where America was after Pearl Harbor 1941.

Two videos got to me after this event. One was made almost a day or two afterwards. U2 had recently released an album and MTV put together a montage of the events to the song “Walk On.”

U2–Walk On

The second one I heard a few years later. We wonder where God is when we go through troubles and yet when life is good, He is all around us. We ask why could He ever let this happen if he was such a loving God. Guess what? He was there. He was there with everyone who died that day and those who survived. He was with everyone, like He is everyday. Some just choose not to see. It is quite emotional to listen to and see the photo montage.

Meet me in the Stairwell

Lastly, being from St. Louis, I had to add this. We watched this live in Columbia, MO and I lost it listening to this. Jack Buck is a Hall of Fame announcer who made one of his last appearances at the first game since 9/11. He got into poetry near the end of his life and he wrote this poem. He read it to the sold out crown at Busch Stadium II.

Jack Buck–Poem

This year is the ten year anniversary of it; however, make sure we remember this daily. Remember those who risked their lives for others that day. Remember those who are serving right now halfway around the world so we can continue to be free. I am thankful for all of them and I will make sure my children will understand this in the future as well.

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60 Years!

Today is a special day in our family. Our dad turns 60 today. It is mind-numbing to think that he is 60 years old. He has been a father for well more than half his life now. He has been a grandfather now for almost the past 18 months. He is someone extremely special and a huge blessing for all of us that can associate him with our family.

He brought me to countless baseball games growing up. Mind you, he was not a huge fan of baseball. His son was and that is why he would go to games. He took me to many of my own baseball games growing up. Many of those times he would have to race home from work, drop me off, go back home and eat and then come back to my games to support me. Now that I have a son, I get how much that can drain you. Some days after work, you want to come home and relax and your son wants something. Instead of saying you are too tired or find another way to the game, he would drive me without hesitation. After a 9+ hour day at work, his relaxation was watching his son play baseball.

I think one of the coolest memories that my dad may have of his two sons working together was when I helped out coaching his soccer team when Andrew was in 4th and 5th grade. He got to watch one son coach and another son play. I think it was one of my favorite memories two of Andrew and myself working together and I hope it made our dad proud.

He has been there in the good and been there in the bad times. I remember on a warm summer night, he took me to the ER after I cut my chin pretty bad on the sidewalk. We were there until after 1 in the morning and he had to work the next day. He could have cared less, his son was hurting. When I was much older, he came out to Phoenix when I had surgery for the first time. He acted the way a father should when the hospital could not find me after a surgery that was supposed to take two hours take four hours. He wanted to know where his son was and he was going to check every room if no one was going to help him. The most recent memory of going through something with him there is what happened to me almost 18 months ago now when I had to have brain surgery. He stayed with me in the ER beforehand while they did the CAT scan. He was with me the next day when I remember waking up. He was there with me when the doctor told me I needed brain surgery. He prayed with me with the pastor at our church. He walked behind me as I got wheeled to surgery and had to stop by my wife’s room to potentially say good-bye. He was there afterwards as well. That symbolized it all. He is there when life is great and when life has been bad.

The thing that I think has pushed him along with this are two people. The first and most important, is the love of our Heavenly Father. He has worked so hard at being an amazing husband, dad and now grandfather. He gets that from the love that God showed us by sending his only son to die for us. My dad has shows this same love to us and it is an amazing blessing to have him as a dad.

The second person has been his wife and my mother. She has always been by his side through thick and thin. She encouraged him with work, with his sons and now with his grandson. I mentioned how he was there with me when I got the news about brain surgery. Guess who was right next to him? She has always been by his side to support him in all times. She lives out those marriage vows to a tee. It is so encouraging to see that after so many years, the support she always has for him. She may not agree with him in everything; however, she loves him and her family and will support him at all costs.

Well dad, I hope you enjoy your birthday today. This is your day. I know you are the most humble man I have ever met, but celebrate today as being your day. 60 years. Quite a day. Thank you for your leadership, your support, your kindness, but most importantly, your love!

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