Travis made friends easily everywhere they lived (their family moved a few times during Travis and Derick's school years). Travis was incredibly intelligent and studious and excelled in school. He became an excellent athlete - competing at a state level for wrestling in Iowa. He took advantage of opportunities - such as researching and applying for many college scholarships. He has always been very responsible with money - probably because (as he would tell you) his parents made him start paying for his own toothpaste and toiletries in 7th grade. (Or he was too impatient to wait for his mom to go to the store.)
Travis and I have known each other for almost 20 years now! Is that even possible?! (I must have met him when I was nine.) We were introduced through the Southwestern book selling program during our college summers. He attended - what was known as - Mankato State University, and I was a U of M gopher. When I met him, he was an obvious leader. He was very successful at school. (He graduated college with a 3.7 GPA - I'm impressed by that.) He was even more successful at business. He always seemed to have his head on straight. On top of it all, he was a great listener, hilariously funny, and an engaging conversationalist.
Over the last nearly 20 years that I've known Travis, he has grown immensely. He has especially grown in his relationship with God. He no longer calls himself a Christian but remains looking just like the rest of the world. He has become an obvious Christ follower. It means he's let the Lord help him control his explosive personality. (Jim, Linda, the kids, and I are all loving this example he is setting.) ;-) He asks God for direction first instead of doing something and asking God to bless it. It means he's become a generous and integral part of a community. Does that mean he never makes mistakes? No. Note - he is human.
One of the things that makes Travis so unique - and so similar to Jesus - is his ability to look at the world (or situation) without the lenses of our culture. It's something I love and hate all at the same time. For example, when Taite was three I began looking for preschools. I found a great, local, state-certified preschool. I enrolled Taite. I mean, isn't it normal to send your child to preschool at three? All my girlfriends were doing it. Travis challenged me. "Who says we have to put our kids in preschool at three? Who says we have to put our kids in preschool at all? It might make a difference in their skills and behavior in Kindergarten, but does it have a long-term impact on their learning? And why would we add that to our schedule when (I) work three days/week? And why would we add that to our monthly expenses?" Grrr. I didn't listen to him and at the end of the year I found he was right. This year of preschool had been a big logistical headache.
This 40th year of Travis' life will be commemorated by a life event. There's a long story behind it (and I'll put that in another blog entry someday soon), but Travis is about to become a farmer. Ok, our whole family is, but let's focus on who's important here. Travis has been a business man for 20 years. He's had soft, callous-free feet, clean fingernails, and pale white skin for decades. Times are about to change. He'll still run his insurance business. (Nothing changes there.) Next month we buy a 15-acre hobby farm.
Instead of being 40 and becoming old (btw - 40 is not old), Travis is starting an exciting new era of life. It brings his faith, business skills, and life-long love for farming together. I think it's invigorating. I'm glad I get to be his wife. Travis has proven to be a very wise man. I think I'm wise for marrying him. ;-)
