Got the Spirit!

I have had a spirit-filled weekend. I heard Friday night that my high school alma mater, Concord, beat our cross-town rival, Kannapolis, *at* Kannapolis, thus bringing home THE BELL. You may query, "Um, you've been out of high school for almost 14 years; why do you care?" Because not only is the Concord/Kannapolis rivalry the OLDEST continuous rivalry in the state of North Carolina, but there are just some things that run so deep in your soul that time & distance don't diminish their pull. This is a BIG DEAL in my hometown. My mom sent me a "Go Spiders!" text Friday afternoon; with no other prompting, I knew exactly what day it was. Almost everyone whom I went to high school with who updated their FB status Friday night/Saturday morning mentioned the victory. Concord won the State Championship in 2006; but I would venture to say whether or not we beat K-town every year is actually more important. The papers are full of articles about the history of the game (like here and here - both of these with Kannapolis slants, since K-town won last year & was favored this year, too - HA!) and there is nothing like the sound of that ringing bell when it's ringing for CHS. I am so serious. As soon as God lets us move back South and it's not such a monumental trip to get home, I am totally taking JB & the kids to a real Bell Game, (esp. since JB played football through college, Will is dying to start playing himself, and Annelise is already practicing cheers.)

Think "Friday Night Lights" to the nth degree, and let your heart melt with me...

Will & Sis with *The Bell* two years ago when we went to an early season game while visiting home:

So yeah, we are all - including, if not *especially*, myself - die-hard football fans, and as the ACC has always been better at basketball than football, I am much more into NFL & the Redskins (Charlotte didn't get the Panthers until I was almost out of high school; we were always - and I still am - Skins fans) than any college teams. My spirit for the Skins runs just as deep...but has brought with it much more heartache in the last 15 years. I asked a fellow Skins fan if I was setting my kids up for a lifetime of misery, turning them as hard-core as I am; she had a positive slant: at least this way they can learn valuable life lessons about losing. Ha! But it's true: being a Skins fan means learning what it's like to get your heart broken over & over, while still believing & persevering anew each week. So I will still dress us all for game day and teach them about keeping hope alive, (and to say "this is a rebuilding year" over and over...)

Last month on a vacay Sunday on Isle of Palms, SC:

I've also been filled with a spirit of praise this weekend! Praise for the AMAZING Indian Summer, (70° in Chicago in November! Soaking up the last warmth of the year...) Praise for having my family together & doing something special yesterday, (we took JB to the zoo - the kids' favorite! We rode the train to & from and even got off to eat at a train restaurant on the way home. We would have *never* enjoyed so much family time outside doing anything else!) Praise for good friends, (we went to a friend's bday party last evening, and it was just another confirmation of how happy & supported we feel here.)

And finally, praise for singing! I joined the Praise Team at our wonderful church earlier this year, and it is the most fulfilling thing I feel like I've ever done with my voice. I've loved singing and esp. doing musical theatre for as long as I can remember, but this fills a void like no other. Doing theatre just doesn't fit into my life right now. I still love it, but not only are rehearsals completely not conducive to my, JB's, & the kids' schedules, but when you play a different character, it infiltrates your life; and in all honesty, I don't have the personality to spare from being Mommy & just now taking some of my other hobbies back for the first time in 5 years. Singing up onstage with a mic on Sunday mornings is just perfect; I know it's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, b/c I don't resent a single second of the rehearsal time, and I am notorious for loving to perform but hating to practice. I feel like I'm using my gift to the max, and there's no way to explain how cool it is to know that I'm serving people by doing something I love. There's zero pressure, b/c I'm not singing for myself; it's not about me - it's just sheer joy.

So now I need a spirit of peace to descend upon our household. JB has just left, again, for another business trip for the week. I believe this is the last one of the year, but of course, it's horrible timing. The kids have both Tuesday & Wednesday off school (ack!) and I'm going to have to skip Junior League Wednesday night, b/c I'd rather pay for a sitter to go to the movies for JB's bday when he gets home than for a meeting that I can make up next month. Lord, send a spirit of patience & relaxation into our home...