April 18th

For some people, April 18th means certain things: it signifies a birthday (shout out to Hall-of-Famer, fellow Pensacolian, Derrick Brooks), or maybe three days after the tax deadline. Hopefully, my readers did not forget, because the Internal Revenue Service DID NOT forget you :-). In all seriousness, April 18, 2024, has been a day that I’d been waiting, anticipating, and praying for, going on 28 years. This past Tuesday, April 16th, the good Lord bestowed the blessing upon me to take my 39th trip around the sun. April 17th makes me 39 years, one day old. By living to today, I will have accomplished something that someone important to my existence did not do. 

On July 24, 1996, my father turned 39 years-old; however, on July 25th, he was called home to be with the Lord. 39 years, one day old. As we like to say, he completed his earthly journey and took his rest. It was sudden and unexpected, and quite honestly was devastating to my mother and me. A very personal desire and aspiration that I have only provided to a handful of people is that today, April 18th, might be the greatest accomplishment that I have prayed to attain. Accolades are great, recognition is grand, but the greatest gift is the opportunity to live this thing that we call life as long as possible. I stress to anyone that I encounter, whether they are lifetime friends or passersby: birthdays are to be celebrated as a holiday. It is truly YOUR OWN personal holiday. It is the one thing that someone could never take away if they tried. Everyday is truly a gift, which is why it is called the present, but your birthday is the ULTIMATE gift. None of us know our expiration date, and it is our purpose to live life to the maximum potential. To quote Parliament Funkadelic, “When Gabriel’s horn blow, you better ready to go…” and when it does, hopefully you have not left anything on the table.

As I sat on a plane returning home from Las Vegas after celebrating my birthday, my father was on my mind. As he always is. I do not carry hurt, but I do carry a responsibility. I’m responsible for honoring our name. I'm responsible for his wife and granddaughter. I'm responsible for being an upstanding citizen and a high-principled, respectable man as I am the last male Welch standing. I'm also responsible for ensuring that I do what’s needed to not leave anything on the table. I have always been concerned about my own mortality, which is why my engine keeps going and remains fueled to attain everything possible to ensure stability and success for my loved ones. As I woke up today, I knew I had achieved something that I’ve been looking forward to for close to three decades. I pray, hope, and ask the Lord to allow me to (at least) double this time going forward.

This may be a doozy of a first post, but it’s apropos. This is the first day of a new chapter in my life, and I leave nothing to chance. Tyrone J. Welch has achieved a lot of remarkable things, but Tyrone J. has attained the biggest, heaviest, personal milestone to-date: Tyrone J. turned 39 years, TWO days old today 🙌🏽.