13 Years Old, and NO, I Don't Want Kids!

When I was 13 years old (in 1987), I decided I wanted to be a great American Football player, like Mean Joe Green.  I wasn't strong, fast, tall, and I had surely never played the game before; but, that wasn't important to me.  So, I went down to Webster Intermediate School, and took the first step; the physical, which consisted of taking my temperature, blood pressure and of course the urine sample.
After the physical, I was called by the nurse, who ran the whole process, and told that my urine had too much protein in it; and, that I would have to go to the doctor to be released to play middle school sports.  I went home and begged my mother to make an appointment with our family physician, so I could follow my dreams of greatness.
My mother, whom I call "Glo," has always been the outspoken, spiritual rock in our family.  Glo loves God, always has a smile on her face, a song to sing, and never backs down from a fight; although, she only stands 4'10''.  Glo made the appointment with the doctor, and off we went to settle this matter, for good.

The appointment went as planned, with the usual blood work and vital signs; however, we were confronted with some abnormal results.  I was diagnosed with Glomerulonephritis, which the doctor said was a childhood kidney disease that I would most likely grow out of, in time.  Simply stated, the filters (Glomerulo) in my kidney (nephr) were inflamed (itis).  I thought to myself, "No big deal.  I've had worse."  So, Glo and I left the doctor's office, and headed back home; all the while, cutting up and laughing.
We arrived at home, and went our separate ways. Glo went to her room to take a shower, and I went to my room to add to the mess that was waiting for its leader.  After a couple of minutes, I decided I wanted to go outside and hang out with my friends; so, I walked into my mom's room, and faced one of the most powerful experiences of my life.  I walked up to her bathroom door; and before I could knock, I heard my mother, our rock, sobbing and praying out loud to God.  She was broken.
I turned away, without ever knocking on the door, and retreated back to my cave.  I sat on my bed, for what seemed like forever, looking for answers.  Here she was, the toughest lady I've ever known, hurting because of me.  I couldn't feel her pain.  I couldn't do anything to remedy her pain.
I determined that I was already vulnerable enough, with a pending kidney disease, that may or may not go away.  I knew (and still know, now) that I wasn't anywhere as tough as Glo.  At that moment, I realized that all parents are forever vulnerable through their children's pain; and, that I never wanted to be like those people.  Soon, after that realization, an adult asked me, "How old are you?" and I replied, "I'm 13 years old, and NO, I don't want kids!"

She Thought I Was Funny

After my first encounter with Lacye, I spent my Senior year doing normal activities.  I was playing Soccer, going to church, going to school, hanging out with friends and family, and working at a car wash. Lacye and I ran into each other many times, that year while I was being myself (acting stupid), which would start the ball rolling in our future, together.
The first stupid thing that Lacye witnessed was the Jimbo Show; which was an improvisational Doctor/Patient act, put on Jim Garcia and myself in the hallway of our beloved high school.  Jim would fall to the floor, spitting and convulsing, while I took charge by calming the crowd of onlookers and curing Jim of his ailment, before any teachers could make the scene.  Jim would go on to move to Hollywood, where he changed his name to Diego and is now a professional actor and singer in a band, called Stage 11.

The second time that Lacye witnessed the Trevino Humor was during the wintery football season, when I was a cheerleader escort.  Being an escort was a pretty cool job.  We pretty much did whatever the cheerleaders told us to do, like hold signs, bags, jackets, and of course pom poms.  The cool thing was that every escort had a cheerleader on each arm before and after each game, which made us feel pretty important.
The best part of the job was helping the cheerleaders excite the crowd.  I loved that part the most, as I had time to mingle about the crowd and make people laugh.  One cold game night, I found myself in front of a group of fans, huddled together in the bleachers.  I was wearing gloves, acting like my hand was broken by bending my fingers all the way back so that they touched the back of my hand.  As I screamed at the top of my lungs in fake anguish, I saw these blue eyes and a porcelain face smiling at me in the middle of the mass of blankets and jackets.

The third time I spent time with Lacye was in a less crowded atmosphere, over the Christmas break.  I went to an evening basketball game with my friend T.R., because we had nothing else to do.  As we were watching the game, I saw Lacye and her friend enter the gym.  Of course I was immediately nervous, and prayed that they might sit near us.  In no time Lacye and her friend climbed the steps and sat with us!  I thought to myself, "What are the chances?"  Little did I know that Lacye liked T.R. and her friend liked me.  Regardless, I had a great time cutting up and watching that smile form over and again.
When school resumed after the winter break, I passed Lacye in the hallway on my way to soccer practice, where she handed me a written note.  I was walking and reading the note which asked about my winter break and details about hers.  I was just entering the boys soccer locker room when I read the words, "I think you're funny!"  The final note at the bottom of the page was her phone number!  I grabbed the freshman soccer player next to me by the arms and spun him in a circle!  He just looked at me like I was crazy. Then I put him down, smiled and said, "She thought I was funny."

Famous First Words

People often remember what was said in their first encounter with a friend, enemy, family member, or future love.  This is the magical story of how Lacye Brymer (my wife) and I first met.
I remember it like it was yesterday.  It was the beginning of high school soccer season, my junior year, when my teammates and I were leaving school after soccer practice.  As we exited the locker room, we turned into the hallway, where this angel crossed our path.

Lacye was a freshman, at the time, leaving school from softball practice. Immediately, I was enamored with the site of her.  She was about 5'5'', athletic, had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and braces (which I never even noticed).  Lacye was everything that I wanted in a future girlfriend.
As she walked away, I turned to one of my teammates (which we'll call JJ) as I pointed and said, "I'd kill to go out with her!"  JJ quickly took it upon himself to act on my statement and yelled out, "Hey!  He wants to go out with you!"  This is where life went into slow motion.  I saw Lacye fling her hair over her right shoulder as she whipped around and stopped.  I stood there, partly in shock by what was just said, and also mesmerized by the smile on her soft, porcelain face.  I must have looked like a dope, standing there with my mouth wide open.
As Lacye finished turning around, the soft, porcelain smile disappeared, and transformed into a different look.  Her brow furrowed, her blue eyes turned into fixed laser beams, and the corners of her mouth retreated South.  She opened her mouth and uttered these four words, that I'll never forget.  "I don't think so!", she exclaimed, as she turned back around and walked out of my life, for what I thought was forever.
God had other plans for Lacye and I, though.  We weren't supposed to meet that day; but, one year later, we went on our first date.