Sister Time

I was so excited to see my sister it felt like forever since i'd last seen her.  That has to be the worst part about them living 3 hours away.  Some days I'd love to just be able to grab lunch together.  It's also difficult because I know how busy they are when they get to come home and as much as I'd love to kidnap her and make her spend the whole weekend with me I just can't.  When we realized the NCAA National Championships for gymnastics were in Birmingham we knew we had to fit it in if possible.  Alabama was competing in the evening session of Friday so we decided we would go.  I was so excited because we got to go together and cheer on our school.  Plus we both love gymnastics.

We sprung the 4 extra dollars for the lower level seats.  We were right behind the media tables and beam.  It was a little bit of sensory overload trying to watch 4 events at once.   UCLA was on beam first rotation and I thought one of the team managers looked familiar.  I figured out it was Jordyn Wieber from the 2012 Olympic team.  So that exciting.   Alabama tied Florida and advanced to the finals on Saturday night.  We weren't able to go though because of family obligations.  (They came in fourth).
After we left the gymnastics meet we went to the see light tunnel in Birmingham.  Pretty cool.
We decided to have a slumber party at mom and dad's because the second part of sister time included running a 5K race in Gardendale Saturday morning.   It was supporting two local charities and we knew several people running it.  We were excited. 

Here we are before we left.

I had not really trained for this.  Like at all.  I'd been running a little for some cardio but not 3 miles.  I knew it was going to be tough.  I only had two goals.  1.) Not finish last.  2.) Finish under 40 minutes.  I realize that 40 minutes is a really slow 5K but I knew that was going to be pushing myself but still obtainable. 

I'm happy to report I met both goals.  When we rounded the corner I say 36.xx on the clock and realized we were faster than I thought. I realized I could finish in under 38 minutes I kicked it up a notch. 

 I love these next two pictures that were taken at the finish.

My sister is way more fun than I am.  She was posing and smiling.

Then she says I jumped in front of her right at the finish to beat her.  I know she doesn't believe me but that was not the case at all.  I really wanted to finish under 38 minutes and they clock read like 37.57 so I was trying to finish. They also told us to stay in line so one of us had to be first. I really did feel bad because she could have finished a lot faster.  I probably wouldn't have finished if it hadn't been for her.

Our sweet friend Anna.  She finished way faster than us and was cheering us on at the finish.  That was one good thing about finishing later, there were a lot more people to cheer you on. 

I went to pick this crazy haired boy up at my parents house then headed home to get ready for the start of our Easter festivities.
I was so excited to get to spend so much time with my sister.  I'm hoping to get to Atlanta more this summer to visit her.  She has been a huge encouragement to me lately and I try not to take for granted all the fun ways we have to communicate.  We talk often but nothing beats face to face laughter and a hug.   Easter post coming up.

Weekend of the Century: Part 1

**Disclaimer:  This particular post has taken me almost a month to write for a reason. It was hard to write.  I would appreciate any questions or comments about anything I've written to be directed to me.  Thanks.** 

 Some of you may have heard about the "Game of the Century" a few weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, well my weekend started Friday around noon when I hit the road to Ttown to get ready for my sister's wedding.Yes, my sister got married the day before the LSU game in Tuscaloosa.  I've never felt emotion like I did that day.  Let me back up to the Sunday after the Tennessee game... Liz and Clay came by mom and dad's to announce they'd set a date.  November 4th, 2011.  They also informed us they were inviting 4 guests to the ceremony and 20 guests to a dinner following.  I immediately started bawling.  The first words I spoke went something like this, "4 guests? Are you f-ing serious?" Classy, I know.  To which Elizabeth replied something like, Be happy you're one of them. She went on to name the four guests...none of which included my parents or his parents. I then announced if my parents weren't invited then I wouldn't be in attendance. I could not for the life of me understand why you wouldn't want your parents at your wedding especially since our family has always been so close. I love my parents so much and they are good people.  I couldn't understand why she wouldn't want them there.  I was caught in the middle.  I love my sister, I support her, if she's happy I'm happy for her. But I also love my parents and it killed me to see them so upset they've been dealt some blows and I think this was the most hurt I've seen them.  I mulled over it for two or three days and with my parents blessing I decided I should go to the ceremony if I was invited.  I arrived in Tuscaloosa a little after 1:00 Friday and the whole town was a buzz.  There were people everywhere already ( for the game not the wedding).  I got to the house and Elizabeth and Amy were getting ready. We all chatted and laughed.  I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it through the day.  I was trying so hard to stay strong, I've gotten pretty good at smiling on the outside when I really want to sit in the corner and cry.  I was completely torn the entire day.  We all got ready and then it was time for Liz to put on her dress and finish her hair.  While I was so honored and excited and happy to be there, I was also dying on the inside.  I wanted my mom to be there.  It's a mom's job to make sure your veil is straight and that your shoes are buckled.  I was reminded of my wedding day so much.  My sister and I spent that entire day together and we laughed a lot.  We laughed a lot this day too but every time I laughed I felt guilty that I was there and my mom wasn't.Soon enough it was time to head to the church.  We arrived at little bit early and the priest wasn't there yet.  He quickly arrived and we headed into the chapel.  The chapel was beautiful and it was a really sweet, intimate ceremony.  One of the prayers was that you are blessed with children and they bring you much joy and all I could think was that their parents weren't there and how much joy being a part of this ceremony would have brought to them.  I always cry at weddings and this one was no different.  I cried like a baby. It was really beautiful.  I was so happy I went because I know I would have regretted not being there.  Sometimes we have to suck it up and smile even if you think it may be the last thing you ever do.  After the ceremony we went to Cypress Inn for a nice dinner.  Patrick and I love Cypress Inn, I was sad he wasn't able to join us.  He wasn't able to get off work. I was happy to finally see my parents.

 

John and me before dinner.

Me and the bride.

Amy and my Mom, they both looked beautiful.

Amy and John

We felt like we were at the kids table.  So to play the part when Keith opened his potato we all thought it looked like a seal so we made a ball and put it on his nose.  Isn't he cute.  We had Gigi's cupcakes and then we headed to the house. 


Once we got to the house we decided to head to the Houndstooth.  This was the outside at 8:30 Friday night.  It was crazy! 



I was excited to see my new friend Shannon.  Love this girl!

Also got to hang out with an old friend from high school.  We didn't stay out to late.  We got back to the house and Amy and Shannon were going to another bar so I just decided to call it a night.  Before I went to bed, Dad and I took Ally for a walk and we ended up walking all the way back to campus to see the Gameday set. We also passed this casket in the bed of a truck.  Pretty random.


 I've tried so hard to put all of this behind me.  It's just so hard when you see people that you love hurt, it's even harder when the cause of the pain was the action of another person that you love too.  I try to forget the pain but it gets brought to the surface all too often in a photo or a friend who mentions it in public because weddings are happy occasions.  And for the record my feelings about this situation have nothing to do with the person Liz has chosen to spend her life with.  It wouldn't have mattered who was standing beside her.  The fact that my dad wasn't there to give his daughter away and my mom didn't get to see her stand in front of that chapel and vow to spend the rest of her life with someone is where the hurt comes from.  The fact that it didn't seem bother either of them that they hurt people that love them deeply fueled these feelings.

If I've learned anything in my 27 years it's Life is all about perspective. While all this was so hurtful and some of us even found ourselves navigating the stages of grief, it could be a lot worse.  They are still in our lives.  I am still able to call her on the telephone if I want to tell her something.  I don't want that to change but I also want it to be understood how hurt I was and why I was hurt.  I've tried to understand and respect the decisions they made but that doesn't mean I have to agree with them.  It also doesn't mean my feelings won't be hurt.

Thanks for sticking with me.  I hate writing these types of posts but sometimes I just need to pour my heart out.  I try to keep it real and this is about as real as it gets.

Season of Thankfulness: Day 4

Football

It may seem a bit silly to be thankful for a sport.  I love football.  I love the fact that my entire family will gather to watch football whenever we can.  I love that growing up fall weekends didn't happen without football.  My parents at one time went to at least 3 football games a week.  For as long as I remember we went to at least one game every weekend.  My older brother played little league football, then he played high school.  I cheered for his little league team then I continued to cheer when he played in high school.  Then I cheered from eighth grade through high school.  My sister did the same.  Then my baby brother played from junior high on.  When I went to Alabama my family started coming down for the games.  It's not just a game it's a tradition with us.  So not only am I thankful for the game but for the memories.

(The family minus my big brother at an Alabama game)

It also doesn't hurt that my team is doing well.  The whole time I was in school we weren't that good.  Each year we would proclaim that "this is our year" only to find out that it wasn't!  The season after I graduate we go to the SEC Championship game.  And we'll be there again in a few weeks. 

(Meet the Rockets my sister's senion year, brothers sophomore year)

(Even on Halloween 3 out of 4 of us were football players)

(My sister is the Chiquita Banana lady)

(Sister and I after we beat Vandy 2007)

(Sister and I after we beat Arkansas 2007)

(After we beat Auburn 2008)

(After we beat  Kentucky 2009)

 I wish I had some photos from when we played/cheered little league, junior high, and for me and my big brother highschool.  I'll have to see if I can dig some out and scan them.  They are pretty hilarious!