Team Life 12/27/2017

Good Morning Team and Happy Hump Day!!! Today I want to share something a little different for you all. I don’t always dive too deep into my personal life in my Team Life posts but today is special. So on this day, 26 years ago, my life was changed forever. Today marks my oldest son’s 26th birthday. David Alexander Salinas was born at Andrews Air Force Base while I was stationed in Washington DC in the US Navy. His mother Sylvia and I were young but we were full of joy and knew we wanted to start a family. It’s funny when I think about my mindset back then. How I knew in my heart I was ready for children and then BANG!!!! Here he is and you realize you can never be ready for the impact your child will have on you. Shortly after David was born during his mom’s 6 week follow up exam she was admitted into the hospital for almost two months. While they tried to determine what was going on with her health. She eventually was diagnosed with Lupus. Although that time was rough, I would not trade the time I was given to raise my son and bond with him during that time. Of course like I always say, no one goes through hard times on their own. Thankfully my mother-in-law was able to come and help for a week as well as my mom. They were both a tremendous help guiding me and teaching this new dad who didn’t know a thing about caring for a child on my own but we made it through. David was just like any young boy. Always running and jumping and pushing his limits. I recall a time when he discovered he could jump the small section of stairs going up to the second floor of our home. The stairs were split into two sections. A small section consisting of four steps and then the large section of about 13 steps. So on this occasion he jumped the small section and proceeded to eyeball the larger section of steps and before I could even try to say no, he was up in the air attempting to jump the large section. He did clear 5 steps and then proceeded to tumble the rest of the way down. He landed on his belly face down on the floor, looked back up at the stairs brushed himself off and went right to that sixth step and jumped back down. The boy has no quit in him. Over time, as he got older and like many couples, his mom and I divorced and he and his brother went to live with her. That was a hard time for me. At the time both of my sons specifically asked me to let them live with mom. Like a lot of fathers, I was the disciplinarian in the family so I guess they thought they would get along with mom better. Shortly after that she re-married and proceeded to move them to Virginia and to Las Vegas for a time. During those years of course David was growing into a teenager and getting into teenage trouble. Through all of his ups and downs though, he has always known right from wrong and quickly realized he did not want the wrong choices. David has also dealt with his share of adversity. As a young child he had repeated problems with his ears and multiple procedures to try and resolve them but unfortunately he still lost a significant portion of his hearing on one side. We tried to get him used to wearing a hearing aid but like many kids he would have nothing to do with it. I can’t tell you how many hearing aids he lost or broke. He never let it slow him down though, he adapted and you would never realize it today unless he told you. David has struggled with some emotional teenage issues but did what he needed to do to overcome them. He moved back to Texas to be back with family with the help of my dad. My dad gave him his first job and while living in San Antonio is where he met Amy. Amy is now my sons wife and I have to say she is the rock that keeps my son grounded and at peace. Amy and her kids are my son’s family and he treats them all with the love and respect they deserve. David and Amy are truly one of the happiest couples I have ever seen. She is not only a blessing to my son, but a blessing to my family as a whole. When I talk about Team, it is not just among coworkers or fitness related teams. Most of us forget that the biggest and best Team we are a part of is our family team. David and Amy are truly the picture of an awesome team. David has also impacted my life as an adult through his support of me. From an emotional stand point when I had to talk with him about the failing of my second marriage and the development of my new relationship to Elizabeth. He has seen me struggle and he is always there to talk and listen and offer word of support and encouragement. I cannot fully express just how much it means to me that I have the relationship I have with not only David but his younger brother as well Major. As a father, I am blessed to have my sons in my life. So let me say this, in no way would I ever claim to be even close to a perfect father. If I could go back there are so many things I would do differently, but none of us have that luxury. But we can learn from our shortfalls and keep pushing forward and I am proud to say that I see that Never Give Up mentality in David. Each and every one of us has the ability to adapt and improvise and overcome adversity, the choice is all yours. Yes, it is a choice. If you get beat down by the SUCK, you can choose to stay down and blame everything and everyone else but yourself or you can suck it up, pick yourself up and get back into the Fight. So today, I want to Say, Happy Birthday David. I hope you have an awesome day wherever the road may take you. Hold true to your values and never let anything or anyone come between you and the man you want to be. You are stronger than you realize. Embrace the SUCK and keep pushing forward towards your goals. I am proud and honored to be your father. I love you. To all of you onboard the Team Life team, each and every one of you are stronger than you realize. You do have it in you to achieve your goals. You are Elite. Keep pushing forward and as always, Never Give Up!!!