The Good Ole Days

I filled up my gas tank yesterday and paid $3.47/gallon. I don't think I've paid that "low" of a price in a LONG time. So naturally, I was excited, which is also the first time I've been excited about the result of my latest trip to the gas station since, well, I'm not sure.

The second thought that immediately came to mind is that I yearn for those "good ole days" when $20 was all it took for a full tank of gas, and maybe a pop to go with it.

I've spent a lot of time over the past few months wishing for a second-coming of those "good ole days." Things that were true in my good ole days (note: these span a LARGE number of days)

• my girlfriend and I lived in the same zip code
• Gas was cheap
• I didn't have to buy my own groceries
• I didn't have to buy my own anything
• the Atlanta Braves were winning pennants every year

There are several others, but for sake of your time and mine, I'll end there.

So what if my Good Ole Days span approximately 11 years of my life. They all represent something, serious or not, that I don't like as much about my present life.

However, I've been learning something lately. And by something, I mean:

Past = past. Present is what's important. Be present in where you are, all the time. Future is worth hoping and praying for. Where we are going defines us more than where we've been.

Now, the thoughts that God presents to me in my head are presented much more eloquently than I've just typed to you, but I think you get the point.

I just realized that elaborating on these thoughts to the point that you'd actually understand them would take more time than I'm willing to give to my blog, and probably more time than you're willing to read (which I know is a lot :) So for brevity's sake, here's my point:

Rejoice in what God has done in your life and where He's taken you and led you to/through. Be fully present in the situation and life and with the people you're currently surrounded by. Let the direction you are heading in be more defining of your character than everything that's behind you.

(sorry if you think any of that has nothing to do with previous words in the post)

And my sincere apologies for giving you the most random, poorly thought/laid out post of my brief blogging life. Thanks for tuning in :)

As soon as I start feeling old...

I was at pizza lunch for Grosse Pointe North last Tuesday and was hanging out with some guys.  I asked what grade they are in and found out they are freshman.  One guy responded back to me by asking, "are you a sophomore?"

As in, a sophomore in high school.

Do I really look that young?

When is the day that being asked if you are younger than you really are becomes a compliment?

New alarm

For the longest time I've relied on my cell phone to wake me up each morning.  I haven't used a traditional alarm clock since high school.  But these days, I'm waking up to something new each morning.  I've waken up at the same time each morning, give or take about 10 minutes or so, for the past week or so to a much more "natural" noise, if you will. 

What is it you might ask?

"If you guessed "a squirrel jumping onto the a/c unit" then you're absolutely correct.

(p.s. if you do a Google image search for "squirrel" some pretty funny pictures show up)

Right around 8 every morning, a squirrel leaps onto the a/c unit that sticks out of the window.  The particular squirrels that live around my house don't really practice quiet landings, so their arrival wakes me up every morning.  It kind of sounds like someone pounding on my bedroom walls.

I might have to put up a "No Parking" sign today.  Or line the a/c unit with tacks.  

I'm only sort of kidding :)

Beautiful weekend for football

This weekend I was part of two fantastic football games.  Saturday afternoon Shan and I, along with some of our friends, spent the first half of our afternoon sitting in good ole Spartan Stadium.  It had been way too long since I was there for a game, and this past weekend was probably my best opportunity this season.  

I don't think I've ever seen it rain so hard for so long, and but I can't imagine having as much fun in a rainstorm as I did.  We gathered all the rain gear we could find, picked up some free tickets from a friend, and found our seats perfectly located in row 3 of the upper deck.  And it was great.  The pageantry of college football is unlike anything else, and "Thunderstruck" will always bring about an adrenaline rush.

So we sat and stood and yelled and cheered and sang the fight song over and over for 3 and a half hours.  Not surprisingly, we left a little soaked, but I don't think all the rain gear in the world had a chance that day.  And after 43 carries and 282 yards from Javon Ringer, we left satisfied with a 17-0 shutout of FAU.

Last night was the opening game for the Grosse Pointe South Red Barons.  I've been helping out with coaching this 8th grade team for the past month and I've absolutely loved it.  We had a bye the first week, so the anticipation of a season opener has been on my mind for a while.  We opened away against Macomb, one of the better teams in the league.  With about a two dozen loyal and loving parents watching both teams, we kicked off under a relentless blanket of rain.  After 3 quarters of sloppy but hard-nosed football, we held onto 13-0 lead.  Unfortunately I had to leave early to get to a YL meeting, but I'm excited to hear a full report at practice tomorrow!

Hopefully after reading this you'll get a taste of how great these games were.  I really don't think there are any words to describe how much rain fell on my head and how much joy was in my heart.  

9/11

Today it's been 7 years since the events of September 11.  I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I first heard.

I was sitting on the left side of the classroom in my normal seat for Schu's math class.  Right in front of his desk.  The bell to start class had just ring and our teacher was just getting ready to get up and begin class.  Suddenly one of our assistant football coaches briskly walked in the room and whispered something in our teacher's ear, then walked out just as quickly.  The room was silent at this point because we all thought class was about start.  Our teacher walked over the t.v. in the in the corner and turned it on, I think to NBC.  He walked quietly back to his desk and we all sat their in silence for the rest of class.  Not one person said a word for about 86 minutes.  

The rest of the day was weird.  We talked at lunch about whether they would attack us, in Northville.  No one really knew what was going on and how serious this actually was.  It was hard to really focus on anything that day, and especially the rest of the week.

Where were you?  What were you doing when you first heard?

Other events that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I first heard about it: OJ's bronco chase, OJ's trial verdict, Princess Diana's death, MSU beating ND in overtime in 2005...I'm sure there's more, but I need to get some work done!

Putting the Giant in Little Giants

UPDATE:  our new guy is actually 205 lbs, not 165 as originally reported.  Yikes.  Welcome to the team!

Real life Little Giants

So I've been helping out with the 8th grade football team for a couple weeks now and I love it.  We have a fairly small team both in numbers and physical size, but I think we've got a handful of good players and several hard workers that should make for a fun season.

From my very first day, I noticed similarities between this team and the fictional Little Giants.  We've got our own version of Ice Box (although it's a guy) and a QB that reminds me of Junior.  And with several first time football players, I feel like I'm living in the movie (although sadly, none of the coaches are anything like Rick Moranis).

Last night we had our first scrimmage.  I saw some good things, saw some bad things, but unfortunately didn't get to see a whole lot because it started late and was shortened by rain.  But the most exciting story is that we have a new football player.  Our very own Spike, if you will.  He's 5'11" and 165 lbs, which makes him the bigger than all the other kids (except for one shorter, heavier linemen) and one coach (myself).  Should be fun coaching him up!

Our first game is Sunday the 14th and I can't wait!  Being able to combine my passion for kids and football is such a blessing.