>>> Larry's Thoughts >>>

Last weekend, my wife and I accompanied my in-law's up to St Louis.  My in-law's used to live in St Louis from 2007-2010 when my mom-in-law worked for AT&T's office up there.  We had a good time and while we were up there, I got to re-connect with an old friend of mine from high school, Marcella Zinno.  To backtrack a little, when I was in high school, I was heavily involved with the Catholic youth group at my parish- St. Paul's.  I had been involved in Catholic education for a long time because I had gone to Catholic school for most of my life so this was a natural extension of myself.  One of the highlights of my involvement was being able to go to LIFE Camp during the summer before my senior year of high school in 1993.  1993 seems like an eternity ago and it partly is!  I was so innocent and naive to the ways of the world.  Looking back, I had not done a lot of activities normally associated with teenagers-  I had barely gone on my first date the year before, not really into partying, played a little basketball, but did well in school and really preferred to just keep to my small circle of friends or read a book.  Anyways being selected by my parish youth group to attend LIFE Camp was a big thing to me at that time.  LIFE stands for Living In Faith Experience- a two-week retreat to the Hill Country of Texas where I would learn leadership skills in a theological context in order to return to my community and help other young people and my parish as well.  Check out their website to learn a little about this experience-> http://www.marianist.com/life.  LIFE Camp is administered by the Marianists, the religious order of brothers with the Society of Mary.  This is the same order that founded Central Catholic High School and St. Mary's University.  The Marianists have a long history of working with young people so this camp is considered one of the best.  I'm not much of an outdoors person (especially in the summer when the camp is held) nor was I a really big extrovert but yet I remember being excited at the opportunity.

When I got to LIFE Camp, I was very nervous because this was the longest I had been away from home.  I was around a couple of hundred other teenagers who I didn't know but who had the same interests as I.  The unique thing is that parishes from across the country send their young people to LIFE Camp for the same reason that I was selected to.  So being able to be around teens like me made it a little more bearable.  Fast forward a bit because a recap of 14 days in the Hill Country can be a little dull but I did make friends.  Referring to the beginning of this entry was Marcella Zinno.  Marcella was from a parish in Fort Worth, TX and was about as innocent as myself.  She was going into her 10th grade year so she was a little younger than I.  But we became friends because she was somewhat of an academic "cerebral" type as myself.  We became friends and kept in touch for a number of years after we had moved on to college.  But, as life often was pre-Facebook, people lose touch and so did we.  We re-connected a couple of years back via Facebook and it was great to see my old friend grown up, married to her high school sweetheart that I remember her talking about over a decade ago, and with 3 little ones of her own.  Being able to visit in St Louis, albeit brief, was a good thing because it helped me remember the innocence of youth.  That period of my life was probably the most innocent part of my life because I had not yet been "corrupted" by the evils and challenges of real life.  I was finishing high school and was hanging around other teens who were basically rule-followers like myself.  Visiting with Marcella and remembering the old days helped remind me to carry my youthful optimism with me my whole life.  It was also very nice to introduce her to my wonderful wife, Bridgedette, because Bridge is the best part of my life today.

Part of remembering back to these days reminded me of another old friend from LIFE Camp.  His name was Otto Crump and he was from a parish in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  Otto was a smart ass guy but one who had values unlike many other teenage boys.  We became best buddies at camp and I got to know the other teens who came with him from his parish.  We kept in touch for a while too after camp and high school but he was another who fell victim to losing contact with over time.  We have emailed back and forth off and on for the past few years because, fortunately, he has had the same email address since the 1990s even though he doesn't use Facebook.  I took the time to email him after visiting with Marcella and he immediately replied, which gave me a good feeling because he took the time to stop what he was doing and write back.  Otto wrote that he was doing great and was happy to hear from me.  He did not know that I had gotten married but said that he was thrilled because he knew that time would never corrupt me because my values are deep and timeless.  This gave me chills because my wife often says she married me for my values so this pleased me to know that, despite all my challenges and less-than-perfect decisions of my younger years, I was still the same guy.

Otto told me something else that one of the teens from his group that I had also become friends with, Margarita Gomez, had recently passed away.  This sent a shockwave through me because we're all the same age.  I remembered her to be a friendly vibrant person with faith in God and ability to help others.  Apparently Margarita had been in a terrible motorcycle accident 2 years ago that left her paraplegic.  But, according to Otto, she had conquered this challenge and was on her way to trying to walk again with assistance and had even won Ms Wheelchair USA 2011!  Last month, while doing water exercises to strengthen her legs, she drowned in a swimming pool unable to save herself.  This served as a reminder to me to never lose my optimism no matter what life throws at you because being disabled didn't change Margarita.  I also was reminded to live life because tomorrow is not promised to anyone.  Otto and I promised to keep in touch more often and it would be great to visit him again in Florida sometime soon.

Anyways, this past week was one that took me back to an innocent time of youth that should always be my foundation for whatever my future holds as well as to cherish that which God has given me.  These reconnections with old friends from a positive time in my life will hopefully keep going too because we should never forget where we came from.  Below is a link to a song by John Mayer that I think sums it all up.




PS- I am constantly reminded by my lovely wife that I should blog more.  As an introvert, it is sometimes hard for me to open up because I'm not sure if anyone really cares to hear what I have to say and plus its not always easy for me to open up.  I promise though to try and blog more often because its not necessarily a bad thing ;)

Until next time.....

LRY

A Weekend Full of Celebration

Bridgedette's thoughts:

“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.”

 Last Saturday Larry and I were invited to witness our friends Casey and Erika become husband and wife.  The beauty of this event was not only the marriage of Casey and Erika (which was beautiful), but also being able to see Larry light up in support of one of our very good friends.  Here is a photo of Larry and Casey at the McNay Art Museum (http://www.mcnayart.org/).

I love watching Larry have fun hanging out with his guys.  They have known each other for more than a decade and have seen the ups and downs of employment, relationships and life in general.  But through it all, they still come back together like magnets and pick up right where they left off.  Here are the guys, Ron, Casey, Larry and David) or as they like to call themselves, "The Brown Panthers."

               ....and here is how I know them: The Silly and Playful Entourage. 

 


On Sunday, Larry and I had another reason to celebrate:

Our Nephew Brandon's will be Graduating from High School on Wednesday!  Here is his Senior photo.  

To Brandon we say,  
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt. 
Go out into the world and work hard for the things you believe in and if you need advice or even a hot meal (when your dorm meal card runs out), know we are just a phone call/text/Facebook message away.


Behind the party scene was this moment....Larry giving my Mom the double thumbs up.  She completed her Spring semester of her MBA program with an "A" and a "B."  Larry is a good motivational influence and even took time to proof read my Mom's Final essay.  So Proud of them BOTH!

Weather for San Antonio, TX

85°F | °C

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Wind: SE at 5 mph

Humidity: 34%

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Visiting with my Parents and Hummingbirds

 Bridgedette's Thoughts:

 Tonight I had the chance to hang out at my parents home.  My Dad is very crafty and always lets me help with the special projects he is working on.  Today we were fixing some metal and wood lawn furniture by replacing the old wood, sanding/paining the wood and the metal frames.  For our second project my Dad taught me how to make homemade hummingbird food.  Once the feeders were filled it was time to hang the feeders back outside. Did you know:

• Hummingbirds are the tiniest birds in the world.
• Hummingbirds can flash their bright colors, as well as hide them when needed.
• A hummingbird's brain is 4.2% of its body weight, the largest proportion in the bird kingdom.
• Hummingbirds can hear better than humans
• Hummingbirds can see farther than humans.
• Hummingbirds can see ultraviolet light.
• Hummingbirds have little to no sense of smell.
• A hummingbird's heart beats up to 1,260 times per minute.
• An average sized hummingbird will have about 940 feathers.
• Hummingbirds have an average life span of about 5 years
• More facts at http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/facts.php 

 ......here is a video of our little visitors::

Teachings

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom!  No air conditioning, No name brand clothes or fancy cars, heck, no car at all for the majority of the time......but my Mom made our world work.  I didn't even know that we were poor, till a classmate of mine told me that my shoes were "old and worn, and why didn't I have better ones."  The moments I experienced growing up have always been part of me and how I see the world and I have my Mom to thank for that.  She made sure to instill in my brother and I the value of hard work and the need for progress of each generation.
  

Our story begins with my Grandmother, Antonia Reyes Gomez.  While I never had the chance to meet her, from the stories that I have heard about her, my Mom and I are very much like her.  Independent, Focused and Strong Willed.











 


My mother had her hands full with my brother and I, as we are 1 year and 1 month apart. This photo has a memorable story behind it, as my brother was not ready to let go of his bottle, but was always willing to take mine...as well as pushing me down the back porch stairs.  My Mom says I just laughed and thought it was a fun game but I'm sure we made her worry.  Sorry Mom, it was Vik's fault!











Thanks to my Mom, we had no idea that we were poor.  She always found ways to have free or low cost fun to make our childhood memorable.  She once came up with the idea of being a "tourist in our own city" and we spent the day exploring San Antonio.  I loved that she was creative, it allowed us to use our imagination and see our world from a different perspective.  One of her best catch phrases was "its washable," she let us be children and explore the outdoors....even if it meant mud fights in white pants :o)




  
Another great thing my Mom did was let my brother and I be individual people.  I was allowed to try:
Music: short lived guitar lessons, being part of the church music group, staying after school to practice with the 7th grade tone chimes group- I was only in 5th grade.
Leadership: Elementary school patrols, Watt Watchers (energy conservation), Student Council, National Junior Honor Society
Sports: playing basketball, volleyball, softball and track, joining
Arts/Science: All Science fairs from 1st-5th grade, Art clubs, Ballet Folklorico, Renaissance Fairs
Social: Participated in 6 quinceaneras, Prom Committee
Travel: Went to Washington D.C.

This is just the short list, lol, I don't know how she kept track of us or found the money to let us experience all of these things, but I value the diverse opportunities I had and still use these examples in my everyday life.



My Mom always reminded me that "either you look at the glass as half full or half empty."  I'm still using this in my everyday life, I refer to this and pause when I make decisions.  Life is not always fair, but it is what you do with your reactions that makes life harder or easier to live.  Thanks to my Mom for her perspective on life!









Education.  One word would stay with me forever.  My Mom would always tell me that no matter what situation I was in, "I was to show my education."  Sometimes I did want to follow this rule, but without it I would not be where I am today.  My Mom had to put her goals on hold to raise my brother and I, but when the opportunity presented itself to return to school, she took it! She showed by example that she meant what she said, and has been constantly perusing her education since 2000. Here we are at the University of Missouri St. Louis as my Mom graduated with her Bachelor's degree with honors (3.7 GPA)!  We are also looking forward to watching her cross the stage in a few short months with her MBA!! WAY TO GO MOM!!!!!

Life comes full circle in this photo, this is My Mom and I on my wedding day.  I waited until my 30's to find the man of my dreams, just like my Grandmother before me.  To honor my Grandmother and the values she taught my Mom I wore this 7 foot veil that  was hand crafted more than 37 years ago by all the women in our family.  They all worked hard to place the lace in perfect position and to keep the model from fidgeting...the model was my Mom trying to standing as still as possible. 

So thanks to all my Mom's efforts, whether she knew they would end well or not, she did a great job raising 2 children and I will always be thankful!

Becoming Mrs. Ynman

Bridgedette's Thoughts:

Most people will say that they didnt have fun at their own wedding.....not me,

I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE!




A big thank you to my parents, bridesmaids and wedding coordinator who were there at the Bridal Extravaganza, dress fittings, searching for invitations, selecting the right shade of blue for the lighting and all the little details that come with planning a wedding.

All, in all, I have to give it 2 thumbs way up!! I am completely happy and the most comfortable I have ever been.

I am looking forward to the adventures Larry and I will have together and we will begin with exploring Italy for the next 5 days. Italy is unforgettable and the cradle of civilization so, being the intellectual adventurers we are, this is why we have selected to visit Rome and Florence! Here is where we will be staying:

Hotel Artemide Review

This boutique hotel, situated near the train station, combines stylish simplicity with modern comforts against a backdrop of Art Nouveau motifs. The original stained-glass skylight dome was retained in the lobby. The midsize to spacious guest rooms are furnished in natural colors and have tasteful furnishings, including elegantly comfortable beds.

Read more: http://www.hotelartemide.it/

Larry and I believe that it takes a village to raise a child and we are thankful to the family, friends, neighbors, classmates and coworkers who have impacted our lives to make us the people we are today. We hope that the Covarrubia Family, Perez Family and Ynman Family know how thankful we are and how loved we feel.