Today is the one year anniversary of the death of my cousin Tyler. He was 13, and was crossing a busy street in Winona, Minnesota in front of his house when he was hit by a car. The driver of the car was a 17 year old girl. My heart goes out today to my family as they try to make it through this day which I am sure will be harder than all of the other difficult days they have had to endure. It also goes out to that young girl -I do not blame her for the accident. I regret that I live in Texas and most of my family lives in Minnesota and North Dakota – it is hard to see them as much as I would like to. I never really even had the chance to know Tyler, I only met him one time, the summer before he was killed. That summer that I visited Minnesota we all went to a Twins game. Tyler loved baseball. It’s a memory I hold very close to my heart.
Tonight (well, 4/25) I went to the Astros game at Enron Field. Enron is a beautiful ballpark. The weather was perfect, I wore jeans and a polo-style shirt without being too cold or too hot. There was not a cloud in the sky. You could not have asked for better weather for the game. It was a good game, some good home runs. (Unfortunately a few too many for the Braves, score was 11-3, they won) It gave me a lot of time to reflect on my family and what is truly important in life. I am glad I went, it was a fitting tribute to young man who loved the game, whose life was tragically cut short – and to the family and friends that were left behind that miss him all the time. I took Naomi’s camera to the game (Thanks Naomi!!!) and I will post pictures soon of the game.
Please take a moment, if you are reading this, and stop and think about those people that are truly important in your life. Appreciate them. And if you could lift up a prayer (or positive thoughts) for my uncle Terry and his family on this day I am sure it will help. Thank you…