This weekend last year, 2009, was the first weekend my wife and I spent in Alabama. It was a house-hunting trip, and a way to dip our toe in the pool. It was a pretty wild trip-- we left KCI Thursday morning at 6 headed to Birmingham and then Tuscaloosa, and we hadn't even made it onto that plane before we were told that we'd be delayed in DFW. Our plan was to be on the ground in Tuscaloosa at lunchtime Thursday, but Mother Nature wouldn't allow it. We stayed in the Dallas airport until about 5 that afternoon, at which time we rented a car and drove as far as Shreveport, after stopping near Tyler at a Wally's for essentials such as shirts, toothbrushes, etc. since our stuff was already checked through.
So we made it to T-Town Friday after lunch, just in time for our first Alabama gully-washer, and our dinner companions told us power went out at their house. We found an apartment we liked (still do!), and went back to Kansas and got married two weeks later.
This weekend, I've caught myself thinking on that four-day span... Thinking of what we were doing one year ago tonight, whether it be actual house hunting, attending church, sitting in the grocery store parking lot waiting for the rain to stop... you name it. But that was an entire year ago, and I've also pondered where we (and I) were last year, and where we are now. We were on the cusp of a great big adventure-- me quitting my job and Ann starting a new one, moving out of my apartment in Clay Center and into her house in Manhattan and further... and of course that whole getting married thing.
I know I get a little introspective around New Year's, thinking about where I've been and what I've done and where I am, and it's much like what I'm feeling this weekend. I had some good things a year ago, and I don't have those things now. But I do have a wonderful wife who makes me happy beyond words. And I have a lot of options in front of me, and chances I likely wouldn't have had if I'd stayed put. I don't know where the road will take me, and I'm pretty nervous about that, but it means I'm trying something new. Different variables mean different results. Who knows where I'll be a year from now.
In other news, I mourn the end of another playoff hockey season. I love the Stanley Cup playoffs, and getting my picture taken with the cup is on my bucket list. I love the passion and the urgency teams play with-- they used to play three or four overtimes and nobody would give an inch.
Something special I saw before game four at Philly was someone coming out to sing God Bless America. A Flyers tradition is to break out that song whenever the team needs a big win. Since they were down two to one in games, it fit. But what got to me is that they meshed Kate Smith's version (recording) with the gal who was singing. That was it. I just came completely unglued. Smith's version is associated with the team, and their winning percentage is astronomically high whenever they play it. It's tradition-- it's the urgency of the situation-- it's the 'we can't go down 3-1 in the series' feeling. It was really awesome to see that. And ya, Philly won to tie the series against Chicago, but the Blackhawks got past the jinx and won at Philly in game six to win it all.
And we're still running-- 28 miles last week, including a treadmill ten Saturday. It's officially hot in Alabama, and I don't see a cool weather outdoor run in the foreseeable future. But we're getting it done.
Oh yeah-- on the way back to Kansas the following Monday, our plane was delayed out of Birmingham, and I had to change a tire at midnight in the parking lot at KCI. Still steaming hot outside. A nice gentleman stopped by and shined his headlights on the event so I could see what I was doing. We got back to Ann's about 2 am. Ask us anytime-- we've got a million stories from that expedition.
