Now I understand Southwest Airlines' policy for large travelers. Gonna be a long flight!!!

Soccer

The last few nights I've been encountering a bout of insomnia that is taking its toll on me. My mind tends to wander in and out of the days events and scenes of my youth. I have been thinking a lot about the youth sports I participated in when i lived in Brownsville, especially soccer. This spring, Cameron and Gabby will participate in their first year of organized team sport. I remember a conversation I had with Ted in May about how excited he was to have Cameron sign up to play in the fall soccer season with girls from her class. I'm so sorry that he won't be here with me to watch them play ball or get distracted and pick flowers off the field. I can't help but remember how my brother would attend every football game I played, and how he would run down the sideline and bark orders to me. After almost every play I would turn towards the sideline and would be able to understand what he was trying to communicate from afar. I cannot wait to help create some wonderful memories for Cameron and Gabby.

My Journal (albeit 7 months late)

My brother, Ted Delgado, passed away seven months ago today from a blood disorder that caused clotting in his cardiovascular which caused a pulmonary embolism resulting in a heart attack. My mother called me that morning and told me he was in the intensive care unit, so I rushed to the hospital but arrived 7 minutes too late.

The past seven months have been filled with many different emotions. Some days are filled with doubt, others with faith, some with anger, and others with love. I have learned to lean on my family, friends, and faith community to get me through these difficult days.

Ted's Eulogy

There is a segment on the Ticket called the Trifecta. The basic

premise is that all deaths come in threes and these people

inevitably share an apartment in heaven. Yesterday I learned that

David Carradine from the 70s TV series Kung-Fu passed away.

Ted was a big fan and I’m sure he’s got a pretty cool roommate

right now; I can only imagine what they are talking about.

Thank you all for coming here today to celebrate the life of a

wonderful husband, father, son, brother, and friend. My brother

Ted was taken from us way too soon; at least that’s how I feel right

now. These have indeed been the saddest days of my life. Every

morning I wake up and realize that this is not a dream and I have to

face the reality that he is no longer with us physically. Since we

grew up in a single parent home since I was five, Ted had to be

more than a brother to me. He stepped into the role of a father

figure. He taught me how to ride a bike, how to fish, even how to

pop a wheelie on my mongoose, but most of all he taught me what

it meant to be a man.. He has given me a beautiful witness of what

it means to be a husband, father, and son.

My brother loved all of you very much. He had the most amazing

personality…it just kills me to speak about him in the past tense.

His laugh was contagious and his friends loved him like a brother.

We grew up in Brownsville TX and made friends with the boys on

Shoreline Dr. We are all still as thick as thieves. Fred, Raul, Neil,

Walter, Ram, and Dean…he loved you guys so much and just

know that he was planning on going back home in the next few

weeks. Maybe he just couldn’t wait to see you.

Ted knew how to push my buttons better than anyone I know. We

are both pretty horrible golfers, although I think I’m a little less

horrible than him, but we loved to compete against one another.

Every time we approached the first tee he would say, “Eric, tell

you what, I’ll give you 10 strokes”. It didn’t matter how many

times I prepped for it, it set me off and got me off of my supposed

game. Ted, I will definitely miss those 10 strokes.

His sense of humor was incredible. This last golf story reminds me

of a time we went down to Laredo to visit our mother. We met up

with some of her friends that just finished a round of golf and my

mother asked them what they shot. The man matter of factly stated,

“I shot a 49”. Mom then repeated… A 49?? Ted, can you believe

it, he shot a 49!!!! What mom didn’t realize is that the guy only

played 9 holes. Ted never let mom for get that.

Ted loved his wife so much. He IS her soul mate and will always

be with her as a guardian angel. Rachel told me a story about what

life was like before she met Ted. Rachel is an artist and would

often draw pictures with an unnamed individual in them, she never

knew who that person was, and she just knew that he was supposed

to be there. She said she always felt like someone was missing. She

said when she was out with groups of friends she would often look

around for that someone but that person was never there. Then she

met my brother and she was complete. No longer would she have

to look around. Shortly there after, he told me he found the one.

He told me, she’s gorgeous, smart, tall, and really really strong.

Less than a couple years later they married right there (point). I

remember that day and how happy the two of them were. Ted and

Rachel are a beautiful example of what it means to be in love. Ted

would always say that he wanted 6 kids but I think they changed

their mind after 2. Don’t get me wrong, he loved those girls more

than anything. They would climb all over him and the even named

him pepper daddy because he liked peppers so much. On the day

he was admitted into the hospital, I could hear the fear and despair

in his voice even if he was trying to hide it. I told him I would

bring the girls food after work and he made sure I knew what type

of happy meal they got. He said Cameron takes Nuggets and

Gabby gets a cheeseburger. Those little angles meant so much to

him. They were his pride and joy. The only time I can feel a brief

moment of peace is when I envision him resting, free of pain, and

finally free from his illness. On his last night with us, Rachel,

Mom, and I sat around him and had a really sweet night. I know

now that we were surrounded by the Holy Spirit. Mom and Rachel

alternated massaging his legs and he was very peaceful. He took

phone calls from friends and family and was still the same old Ted

that we all love so very much. I had the honor of having a heart to

heart exchange before I said goodnight. We hugged each other,

kissed him, and we told each other we loved each other. The last

words he told me was, I’ll see you in the morning.

I know we feel like we will never be with him again. We feel like

he is gone, but we are wrong. Ted continues to live, in our

memories, our laughter, our love, and in those two precious little

girls. I’m blessed to be his brother and am so lucky to have

experienced Ted’s brand of love. I know there are things that have

been left undone, but I promise to carry on his legacy by helping to

raise those little angles into the beautiful women he wants them to

be. That will be just a small way for me to say thank you for

everything he did for me.

Here are some photos of events from the last seven months.

here are some letters the girls made for Ted on Father's Day

Some pics on our trip down to South Padre to pay tribute to Ted's life.

Here are some flower's I thought Ted would like to get Rachel for their first wedding anniversary apart.

Paige and I took a little vacation from reality to attend a four night run of Phish at Red Rocks.

Outdoor movie night with the little girls.

Unfortunately Mom and her long time friend Jan had to be reunited under crappy circumstances, but Jan liked to think of it as Ted pulling some strings upstairs to reunite old friends.

Sorry Ted, I had to teach Cameron how to Hook Em!

We celebrated Paige's Birthday with our family and some Umphrey's at HOB. These seats at the Ballpark in Arlington were the seats I promised Ted in his hospital room the night he was called up to heaven.

Rachel asked me to stand in for Ted, in the Adventure Princess (father/daughter) Program at the Y. Taking this role has been tremendously rewarding.

I taught Cameron how to shoot a BB gun and a bow and arrow. Ted would be happy to know that the Redskins had a terrible year!

She is growing up to be such a beautiful little girl!

Cameron was so proud to win a trophy at the Pinewood derby races

Mike and I shared a suite with some friends at the Spurs v. Mavs game and hung out with Miles Austin.