Gratitude Friday…
I started off my day at the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles getting my new Texas license. Well, a temporary license. The biggest state in the union doesn’t do digital licenses. They still do some lame laminated version that takes around 6 weeks to get in the mail. I had a very nice lady who was kind enough to make a copy of my Oklahoma license before she confiscated it. Make fun of my “honey” “sweetie” and “darlin’” all you want but it works every time. I had to go out and move my car because apparently I’d parked in the student driving parking area. Not a single sign designating it as such but regardless. Thankfully, I’d been overly pleasant to the guy behind the counter who was passing out numbers so he saved me a number while I moved my car. I could have lost 10 spots in line had he not done that. I should send him a fruit basket.
But the best news about today is it’s the first day of August and therefore my official return to ESPN and Sportscenter. I watched during my run this morning. A whole bunch of stuff about some baseball trade but in their defense, the 5:00 am Sportscenter is a re-run of the previous night’s show. Therefore, the fact there was no college football was expected. There was a preview of some story they’re working on about AD. Don’t care one iota that he’s pro now. I still love him. So my focus today is on why I am so grateful for football season:
1. Recreational Companionship – Those of you who’ve read “His Needs, Her Needs” recognize this term. It’s a fabulous book on marriage. If you haven’t read it, do it now. But one of the needs is “recreational companionship” and it’s listed as largely a need for the man. However, this is a need for both Chris and me. We genuinely enjoy hanging out together. During most of football season, I’m a band widow but on those wonderful Saturday’s when he’s free, we thoroughly enjoy spending all day watching football. We're together and that's the best part.
I started off my day at the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles getting my new Texas license. Well, a temporary license. The biggest state in the union doesn’t do digital licenses. They still do some lame laminated version that takes around 6 weeks to get in the mail. I had a very nice lady who was kind enough to make a copy of my Oklahoma license before she confiscated it. Make fun of my “honey” “sweetie” and “darlin’” all you want but it works every time. I had to go out and move my car because apparently I’d parked in the student driving parking area. Not a single sign designating it as such but regardless. Thankfully, I’d been overly pleasant to the guy behind the counter who was passing out numbers so he saved me a number while I moved my car. I could have lost 10 spots in line had he not done that. I should send him a fruit basket.
But the best news about today is it’s the first day of August and therefore my official return to ESPN and Sportscenter. I watched during my run this morning. A whole bunch of stuff about some baseball trade but in their defense, the 5:00 am Sportscenter is a re-run of the previous night’s show. Therefore, the fact there was no college football was expected. There was a preview of some story they’re working on about AD. Don’t care one iota that he’s pro now. I still love him. So my focus today is on why I am so grateful for football season:
1. Recreational Companionship – Those of you who’ve read “His Needs, Her Needs” recognize this term. It’s a fabulous book on marriage. If you haven’t read it, do it now. But one of the needs is “recreational companionship” and it’s listed as largely a need for the man. However, this is a need for both Chris and me. We genuinely enjoy hanging out together. During most of football season, I’m a band widow but on those wonderful Saturday’s when he’s free, we thoroughly enjoy spending all day watching football. We're together and that's the best part.
2. Marching Band – Yes, yes, complete band geek but really, does it get more exciting than seeing the Auburn Marching Band coming out of the tunnel to parade around the stadium? Or hearing The Pride kick off their parade cadence on the way to the stadium? I don’t care who you are, a fan of college football is a band geek every Saturday when they hear their school’s fight song.
3. Athletes – Before we became part of the Pride family, I never really appreciated the athleticism of these 19, 20, 21 year old guys. The Pride sits directly behind the opposing team’s bench every Saturday. Yeah, they get really, really, really tired of hearing “Boomer”. Too bad. Anyway, we would get into the stadium in time to see both teams warm up. Since we were literally an arm’s length away from these guys, I got to really see how focused and driven they were. The amount of time and energy they invest in their bodies and their performance is nothing short of amazing. Most of us can’t manage to focus on anything. We sort of half-heartedly devote ourselves to our jobs, our marriages, our hobbies, our health but not these guys. They are determined and I admire them for that level of commitment.
4. Traditions – In the South, football is almost like a religion. People are avid fans. Craziness is what it is. For me, football is all about my family. Sure there’s the tailgating and time spent at the game, but really it’s about passing on your family culture, if you will, to the next generation. I learned a lot about my parents listening to them talk with their friends in the parking lot at Auburn. I listened to Dad tell stories about his days in the dorms, the Santi Freeze and the card games they played while on study breaks. I know my brother and sister-in-law will do the same with Noah. I wish we could be there with them more often but I’m grateful the tradition continues. Chris and I will take our little ones to Auburn and OU so they can hear stories about our lives in college. Likely won’t have a whole lot of stories about card games but I’ve got some good ones about Buffaloes and Longhorns.
5. Celebration – The Lord is so good. We are blessed in more ways that we could earn in 10 lifetimes. Mountains, valley and the in-betweens of life don’t matter. Life is what it is and we can either chose to find the negative and wallow in our sorrows or we can find the positive and celebrate. I have chosen to focus my time and energy on being positive. In a small way and sometimes in not so small (see Florida game discussion), we get to celebrate on Saturday’s along with the other millions of college football fans. I love winning but even in the losses, there are lessons to learn and I bet there were moments of celebration in every game. So sing that fight song, stand in one spot with the dishtowel in your right hand, tell one more story about how things were when you were in school and eat a hamburger because today, win or lose, we get to celebrate a pastime we all enjoy!
I've got to say it again - WAR EAGLE. There is nothing like watching the band run out and seeing the eagle fly - you just can't beat the eagle. The new song they started last year isn't so bad either.
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