Gulp the Moment

I've followed sports my entire life.  It's one of the things I very much enjoy...my sports as simply part of my world.

I'll admit that sports don't play nearly as big a role as they once did.  Growing up in Buffalo we had 3 professional teams...the AFL Bills, the NBA Braves, and the NHL Sabres.  Buffalo doesn't have much to be proud about so the entire city rises and falls on the fortunes of its sports teams.  Unfortunately there has been more falling than rising over recent years so being from Buffalo has been a difficult, frustrating experience.

No matter.  I'm not a bandwagon kind of girl.  My teams are my teams - for better or for worse.  I'm dedicated for life....In good times and bad, in sickness and in health, til death do us part.  In that same vein, anyone who knows me will realize that I'm passionate about things that are important to me.  Ergo, I can be passionate about sports sometimes.

Typically, my sports teams only do marginally well so I've learned to manage my expectations.  The only team I've followed that ever won a championship is the Syracuse University basketball team.  I've followed them ever since graduating from SU in 1981....we still have the same head coach.  Over the years there have been fair teams and good teams....even a couple of great teams.  Well, this year we've got a good team that's playing better than the sum of it's parts.

All that being said, perhaps people will realize why that makes me so happy.  I'm used to losing, or choking in the last minute, or wondering what it will take to get my team going.  So when times are good, I don't merely sip the moment I gulp it.  I don't simply appreciate it I savor it.  So last night's thrilling last-second half-court shot the kept Syracuse as only one of two unbeaten teams in NCAA Div 1 basketball is something I watch over and over.


It still give me goose bumps to watch. That's why I enjoy college basketball this time of year.  Go 'Cuse!

Charlotte was in the cross-hairs of that big winter storm that hit the South yesterday.  I had two options.  Either sit tight and accept that I was going to be stranded in my hotel room for at least a couple of days, or try to get away to Charleston before the worst of the storm arrived.  I picked the latter, and it was a wise choice.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  I think I make mention pretty much every year that I don't put much importance on this particular holiday.  I'd go so far as to say that I consider it to be a "manufactured" holiday, and the only thing it caters to are loneliness and guilt.  For those who don't have a "special someone" there's the dread of being reminded of that.  And, if you haven't invested enough money in the flower/card/candy/dinner thing, well, you're made to feel as though you somehow don't measure up.  To both of those I say "Bullsh*t".

If you love someone don't wait for one or two or three days a year to remind them.  Remind them every day.  Love isn't measure through gifts, it's measured through sincerity and commitment.  Love is in and of itself an incredible gift, to give and to receive.  I far more prefer to celebrate that simple concept.  The rest is just window dressing and noise.

Live is still a bit in-flux with the cross-country move and the various logistics/expenses/planning that comes along with it.  But it seems to be ironing itself out.  I'm pretty accustomed to doing these kinds of things.  The good news is that I'm where I want to be.