The best love letter I ever received
Jun 12, 2020 17:03:14 GMT -6
larrymoe, vikingdw, and 5 more like this
Post by blackknight on Jun 12, 2020 17:03:14 GMT -6
From my wife:
Pancakes For Dinner Can Wait….
My husband loves football… I mean he really loves football, and not just the X’s and O’s on game day. He loves the comradery, the influence he and the other coaches have on young men (and women in at least one case), he loves practice, clinics, staff meetings (well, short ones anyway). He loves the smell of the field, the feel of the air during 6AM & 8PM practices. He loves the sound of the crowds, the…. well, you get it…. He loves everything about the game. He can’t pass a white board without drawing “God’s Play”... Power. Seriously, God’s Play has been spotted on two whiteboards at Kaiser, in IKEA, in his classroom, in my office, in his office, etched into the dust on the back of my car….. I told you… he loves the game.
After so many years of doing one thing, a person’s mind gets conditioned to think a certain way; in my husband’s case, he sees football everywhere. We were in Home Depot one day and he saw a young man, “look” he said to me, “see his forearms, look how long they are…he’s a Center”. He’s always on the lookout for talent. Even at church. An athletic young man; tall, solid frame… he offers the sign of peace (pre social-distancing) and asks where he attends high school, “you play ball?”. Really, who does this? A football coach, that’s who….
I have grown to adjust to our life. I know there are practices, meetings, clinics, recruiting events, etc.. I know there are only two weeks out of the summer where we can plan a vacation (32 years ago we planned our wedding around football… married on July 2nd… no lie). I know that football is year round. Practice on Thanksgiving morning meant you made it to the 2nd round of playoffs. Missing a family Christmas party meant you made it even further. I have seen boys grow up to be men. Men become fathers. I have attended graduations, weddings, and funerals where Coach was a welcome attendee and conversations always gravitated to “remember when it was 4th & goal?”.
If you are a casual fan (or not married to a football coach), this may not make sense. In fact you may be rolling your eyes; there’s more to life than football. True, but I’ve learned that football definitely has a place in my family and in our world. And, it’s not just because football has always guaranteed me a few weekends a year where I have the house to myself, where I can have pancakes for dinner and popcorn for lunch if I want. Football provides structure for players and coaches. It provides routines, predictability, focus. It provides a place to go… a place to be…. a group to be with. Don’t underestimate how difficult it will be for our athletes and our coaches to remain on the sidelines while Science catches up to us.
I love my husband…. my husband loves me…. he says he can’t live without me, I believe him. He can’t live without football either. I’m reminding myself that the virtual coaching clinics and happy hours, the relentless review of game film, and the weekly check ins with his players are all ways for our coaches to stay connected to the game and to each other. I’m okay with that. Pancakes for dinner can wait.
Pancakes For Dinner Can Wait….
My husband loves football… I mean he really loves football, and not just the X’s and O’s on game day. He loves the comradery, the influence he and the other coaches have on young men (and women in at least one case), he loves practice, clinics, staff meetings (well, short ones anyway). He loves the smell of the field, the feel of the air during 6AM & 8PM practices. He loves the sound of the crowds, the…. well, you get it…. He loves everything about the game. He can’t pass a white board without drawing “God’s Play”... Power. Seriously, God’s Play has been spotted on two whiteboards at Kaiser, in IKEA, in his classroom, in my office, in his office, etched into the dust on the back of my car….. I told you… he loves the game.
After so many years of doing one thing, a person’s mind gets conditioned to think a certain way; in my husband’s case, he sees football everywhere. We were in Home Depot one day and he saw a young man, “look” he said to me, “see his forearms, look how long they are…he’s a Center”. He’s always on the lookout for talent. Even at church. An athletic young man; tall, solid frame… he offers the sign of peace (pre social-distancing) and asks where he attends high school, “you play ball?”. Really, who does this? A football coach, that’s who….
I have grown to adjust to our life. I know there are practices, meetings, clinics, recruiting events, etc.. I know there are only two weeks out of the summer where we can plan a vacation (32 years ago we planned our wedding around football… married on July 2nd… no lie). I know that football is year round. Practice on Thanksgiving morning meant you made it to the 2nd round of playoffs. Missing a family Christmas party meant you made it even further. I have seen boys grow up to be men. Men become fathers. I have attended graduations, weddings, and funerals where Coach was a welcome attendee and conversations always gravitated to “remember when it was 4th & goal?”.
If you are a casual fan (or not married to a football coach), this may not make sense. In fact you may be rolling your eyes; there’s more to life than football. True, but I’ve learned that football definitely has a place in my family and in our world. And, it’s not just because football has always guaranteed me a few weekends a year where I have the house to myself, where I can have pancakes for dinner and popcorn for lunch if I want. Football provides structure for players and coaches. It provides routines, predictability, focus. It provides a place to go… a place to be…. a group to be with. Don’t underestimate how difficult it will be for our athletes and our coaches to remain on the sidelines while Science catches up to us.
I love my husband…. my husband loves me…. he says he can’t live without me, I believe him. He can’t live without football either. I’m reminding myself that the virtual coaching clinics and happy hours, the relentless review of game film, and the weekly check ins with his players are all ways for our coaches to stay connected to the game and to each other. I’m okay with that. Pancakes for dinner can wait.