The blog I never wanted to write

Did you know that Travis was a preemy?  Yep!  Five pounds at birth and seven weeks early.  He immediately lost weight and we had to leave him in the hospital for two weeks.  That was tough!

It was love at first sight.  He changed our lives forever. That was thirty-nine and a half years ago.

In between, he has provided us with some of the proudest moments of our lives!

Raising him was actually pretty easy.  He was always respectful!  He never broke the trust.

People like Travis!  He was fortunate to get his mother's personality!  He makes friends easily everywhere he goes.

And, he is generous - especially with those he loves.  In 2005, Tracie had saved $600 to buy her wedding dress.  But she fell in love with one that cost more than twice that.  She borrowed the excess from Travis;  he never let her pay him back.

He was Troy's best man in 2012.  He came home for a whole week and went to extremes to see that everything was perfect. He prepared their honeymoon suite with extravagant treats and adornments.

We were also recipients of his generosity. He often bought us expensive things that he knew we would never purchase on our own.

A couple of years ago, Travis and Josh decided to stop showering Rylie and Coltin (Tracie's children) with gifts. Instead, they opened a college fund for them (as well as a niece of Josh's) and began making monthly contributions toward their future education.

When Debbie and I were young, we saw siblings that seemed to hate one another. Before we were even married, we determined that we would strive to raise our children to genuinely love each other. And they have!  They've shared vacations and still have animated and humorous text-conversations on a regular basis.

In recent years, Travis made major life decisions that we did not agree with. However, our love for him remained constant and grew to include Josh. He also made career decisions that changed his future work focus. We supported him in these.

Then, of course, we went to China for three years. The last time we saw him was at Family Camp during July, 2014.   It was wonderful to have our whole family together for an entire week!  A rare treat for the Haire family.

On Monday, Josh called to tell us that Travis had experienced a cardiac arrest.  We immediately flew to his side - where we have stayed. Initially, we had a hope that he would be restored to us;  however, in time it was clear that we would not tbe hearing his voice again.

In the meantime, we have taken turns standing at his side.  We have talked to him, held his hands, rubbed his shoulders and loving stroked his face.  It's ironic that I recently wrote a blog about weeping.  This week we have each sobbed with sorrow!  Wednesday night, Debbie wailed throughout the night!  The next morning, I watched her caress his face with her fingers and her lips as she sang to him and expressed her love to him!

I look at this man who is so intelligent. I remember how he used to love to lay on top of me when he was young.  I think about his knowledge of nuclear reactors.  I think about the places he's been and the experiences he's had.  When he came home from one of his deployments on the Parche, I smilingly asked him where all he'd been?  He said, "Well, Dad, I could tell you - but then I'd have to kill you".  And then he laughed that goofy laugh of his!

An hour ago, Travis passed away.  He is now giving life to others through the donation of his kidneys.  In time, he will be buried according to his wishes at the United States Military Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Our grief is without description!  We are seized with pain. We are, however, a family of faith. Our trust is always in the Lord. If need be, we will stand with Job and say:  "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;  blessed be the name of the Lord."

We believe with all of our hearts in the pursuing love of God. We know that God pursues all people up until the last milli-second of life!  We have continually called on God's mercy and grace for ourselves and for Travis.

We stand with broken hearts that need mended and we look to the Lord for that healing.