Unmotivated

Well, I have let my readers down and possibly lost a few due to my self imposed writers block. Occasionally I get one naturally but over the last week it has been by choice. I just can’t seem to get in the mood to write, so I am writing now in order to motivate myself. This has been a reoccurring problem not just with this blog but in several areas in my life lately. At work I have struggled with burn out and have blamed it on the usual negatives that come so easy such as working 12 hour shifts, and doing that at night to boot. Yes, I suppose that doesn’t help but that isn’t quite the reason for burn out. I know, everyone goes through it and I am nothing special. My daughter Amber has been home for a visit. I have taken off several days from work and have allowed myself the pleasures of laziness. She has been a blessing to be around and a delight to hear the compliments from others of how we did such a good job of raising her. I still say we grew up together so I can only take a small amount of credit for her raising. The rest comes from her mother, as is the case of her good looks. I made a mistake this morning and asked Amber if she was ready to go home. She simply said “That isn’t home Dad”. She is right, home is here and if the truth be known sometimes I wish she wasn’t in the Navy. I know more than you that I am selfish, but I miss my kid. Well, one year down and three to go at least. God bless her and keep her safe. We will miss her when she leaves in the morning. I also spent a lot of spare time working on my wife’s new website for her business. It should be going live soon. I am excited about it too because it is very professional and full of photos and content. But I am getting tired of working on it. I also have had a rare chance to go a week without shaving. This has been fun. I can hardly grow anything on my face but I like the feel of it. I know it don’t sound like a big deal, but due to my job I have to shave closely before every shift. So the change is fun. Back to burn out’s. I have been thinking on the subject over the last week and wondering how to get motivated in many areas at home and at work. So any suggestions would be appreciated. So Roll Tide! Wash my mouth out! If you don’t know me, that is very difficult for me to say or write. I have a hatred of the Alabama Crimson Tide that equals that of Al-Qaeda, other Terrorists and the Democratic Party. I actually found myself truly struggling with wanting to pull for Alabama and also pulling for the Texas Longhorn’s at the same time. Well, I am just being honest. As I predicted, Alabama would tear Texas apart. I do not want to offend anyone but the SEC is the toughest conference in the sport. Alabama breezed through the SEC with the exceptions of Tennessee and Auburn but they won those games too despite a thorough butt spanking from Auburn. Auburn, you showed your weakness by allowing Alabama, the National Champions to put together one flawless drive and that at the very end of the game. Typical Auburn! Alabama has got to be blessed by God or the luck of the Irish or something due to the breaks that seem to always go their way. This time it was QB Colt taking a solid hit from a Bama boy and leaving Texas without a weapon way early in the game. Texas showed even during their first two opportunities to jump out on top of Bama that they just don’t have the talent to compete on the level of the SEC with only being able to put up two field goals, I knew then they had already played their best against Bama. Heck, even Auburn who was a middle of the road SEC contender scored two touchdowns on Bama right off the bat. Well, I have said it before many times and I say it again, if you go undefeated in the SEC you are already National Champions. Alabama just proved it with two bonus games against Florida and Texas. So Roll Tide! They certainly deserve it! As for now, I will close with this lame blog and hope I get it together soon. Oh, and by the way. I won a bet on the fact that it would not snow in Birmingham this week despite the once or twice a year predictions we get from our weathermen on the news. I hope the kickbacks from the grocery stores come in quick for them. I wonder what I won? 

Cat's in the Cradle?

My first born daughter Amber who serves us all in the United States Navy has blessed our New Year with a visit. She is still here visiting with us and will be for a few more days. I have to keep reminding myself that once your child flies the coup they never fully return. They only visit leaving the at home family a little smaller and a little sad. I learned this early as a child with the death of my father. A family is a precious thing that is temporary yet we never keep that in mind during our daily routines. Then one day the family is smaller and we realize it only to fall back into the dreary everyday routine until it is time for the next family resizing. I remember when my older brother married Coni, my sister. Yes I said sister, so don’t rush to stereotype me because I live in Alabama. I say sister because heck it is hard to remember times without her around. I think I was 15 when this beautiful Italian girl became an Edwards and joined right into the family fights like she had always belonged. Well she did always belong and we just didn’t realize it then. So the family was resized. We had to adjust how we normally acted while she was in the house. (Yes Coni, we actually acted even less civilized when you weren’t around) This time frame was also another learning curve for me. I learned real quickly not to use Italian jokes around Coni. Wow! They actually did get offended by them and Italian women are a force to be reckoned with when you piss them off! But anyway, Coni is my sister and I know her by no other way. She is strong and very level headed and ready to listen if you need her to and I love her very much. I don’t think I ever really told her I felt this way about her. Maybe she will read this blog? So my brother John joined the Marine Corps when he was but a young married pup and off he went never to return to the Edwards fold as an in house family member. But again, the family was soon resized with the exciting addition of the Edwards family coming by way of my first Nephew Lee Michael. This brings up another blog topic of whether it is wrong to have family favorites. But not now, if I would declare a family favorite it would have to be Lee Michael. His presence just lights up any room regardless of the fact of his shyness. I said if because I do not have a favorite Nephew or Niece. Only those parents of more than one child can understand that you can equally love more than one child but yet also love them differently. This is truly one of God’s greatest mysteries. But anyway, I love my Nephew Louie, who also taught me other lesson’s of learning along with the next family resizing with the addition of Jennifer, my first niece. Wow, I also learned from my sister Coni that you never ever answer truthfully to a mother about the looks of her new born baby. Yes, I was stupid enough to say that Jennifer was an ugly baby to Coni. Well, I thought she was and frankly, I think most all new born babies are ugly, except for mine of course! Well they are! They either look like aliens who just broke free from an egg pod or they look like old elderly people. Oh but yet another learning experience that was. Jennifer taught me many things. First that ugly babies become rather beautiful kids very quickly, and secondly, that life is precious and short and a child deserves YOUR best treatment at all times even when they actually act like children! Jennifer. I could write for years on how she impacted me and I would have to entitle it “Regret’s”. But we have an understanding now that she lives in heaven and knows my heart and the love I had for her. Did you know people can forgive you even after death? It is true. So again this too can be yet another blog for another day. So, I left the coup myself and joined my wife on an adventure of lessons learned which continue today. Our family grew quickly with Amber, and both my wife Billie and I grew up with Amber! I think this is why God saw to it that the first born child should always inherit the parent’s possessions. Because they were with you when you had nothing and deserve all your possessions because they were with you when you were able to collect them. Well in our case that was how it was with Amber in tow through all the miserable times of trying to make it through life’s hardships absolutely broke with all those around making predictions and wagering on how much time before we called it quits and split up. Thank you! Your full support and faith was ever motivating! The family resized shortly later with my younger brother Terry flying the coup to marry Mary. Our family was reduced to just mom and we fractured off with each his own family. Terry and Mary who we all thought would be unable to produce children ended up being as fertile as the Tennessee Valley with 5 children of their own. (so far) With Brian, Isaac and Abbie Gail, those I haven’t mentioned yet bring my mom with a total of 11 grandchildren. This brings me to the point of this blog. No, I am not drinking and rambling off about the past for no reason. Every time Amber comes home for a visit I find myself being selfish of her time here. Yes, I even get jealous when she runs off with all her friends and spends time with them. When they come over I am reintroduced to all these young studs who remind me of how I use to look. (Another blog) and then I am rebuked by Amber for forgetting most of their names although she forgets that they have changed physically since she use to hang out with them and that she has more friends than Mother Teresa. But when she comes home and goes out on a date I love to purposely call her date by another young man’s name. J This can be quite fun. I love the look of confusion on their faces. Back to the point, Amber is all grown up now and off living on her own in another part of the States as she serves our country and when she returns for a visit I want her time. The reason for this deep down inside me is because I do not want to face the fact that Amber has left the nest. We did our job. Her life is now her life and we will become like my mom did. I don’t want to face the fact that our family will fracture and resize like the family I grew up in did. That means that before I know it Isaac will be leaving our home to travel his own path and then it will Be Abbie Gail’s turn to leave. I guess I am selfish to the point that I do not want to be old and waiting for a visit from my children. I often wonder, am I the guy in the song “The Cat’s in the Cradle”? Is that really my fear? Have I spent enough good quality time with my children that they will need me in their lives or did I short cut their time with Dad running around playing policeman while they grew up? Yes, it is a fear. So I must allow Amber the space she needs to recharge all of her batteries at home. And that means that I must remind myself that I myself and her mom are not Amber’s whole world even if we want that to be the case. Let her grow and enjoy her freedom to choose who to visit and how much time to spend with mom and dad. I love Amber and I am very proud of her as those of you who follow my blog know. But I am also very selfish. I need to remind myself that the world does not exist to please me. (Although I admit, I want it to!) I just hate seeing my life slipping away so quickly and I want to slow it down for my own benefit. Hey, just being honest with my readers you know?

Coach Nick Saban Made a Believer Out of Me

  

  

Nobody trashed talked the hiring of Alabama’s Nick Saban more than myself. Nobody! I found every reason, factual or not to exploit the idea that Nick Saban was nothing more than the latest College football Head Coach hype. The controversy surrounding his hype encouraged me even more while he constantly denied the rumors that the big money in Tuscaloosa had lured him into top position to lay claim to be Alabama’s next head coach. I found him to be incredibly arrogant and merely ego driven and money hungry. His constant denials of taking the job convinced me more than ever that he would be the University of Alabama’s next head coach. Once the final announcements were done and over and Nick Saban took the drivers seat of the tide my joy was near complete. I counted on Alabama being a hard fit for the man’s ego and problems would surely arise. His first recruiting efforts seem to produce great results but I didn’t care. I hated Alabama and naturally my hate transferred along to Saban. The first Iron Bowl delighted me with the Deer in the headlights look that remained on Saban’s face throughout the behind the woodshed butt whipping Auburn put on Saban’s Tide. It seemed things would just fall into place as I had thought. Then the next year brought Auburn the turmoil behind the scenes that brought the Tigers down to earth and eventually Tommy Tuberville out of the door at Auburn but not before a major butt kicking in an Alabama shut out of Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Saban continued to recruit outstanding players which has really never been hard to do at Alabama, but Saban kept at it and built this year what I thought to be the best overall Alabama football squad I have ever seen in my lifetime, including the 1992 Championship team which embarrassed an overly cocky Miami team in the National Championship causing even me to pull for Alabama in what has been only a few times in my life. Anyway, I still feel this year’s team was better than the ’92 team that embarassed the Miami Thug’s. That is saying quite a lot. This year began as usual with Alabama defeating Virginia Tech and a handful of other not so great teams, yet they were scoring a lot more points as usual but what I noticed early was that Alabama was not allowing as many point against them as they had in years prior. Also, it was obvious that Alabama’s talent included many different players that shined. Enter Mark Ingram, who busted out of no where carrying the ball with high per carry averages and hardly ever dropped the ball. If I am not mistaking he only had one fumble this whole season. Collecting game after game of 100 yard plus carries and without doubt being the very reason for wins in close games. He continued to rumble down the field padding his stats unstopped allowing Bama’s Quarterback McElroy to produce more and more completions while the defense continued to shut down the opposition game after game. I believe the best measure of Mark Ingram’s talent was uttered by Auburn’s leading ball carrier Ben Tate who spoke to the media about how he felt he was being overlooked for the Heisman Trophy this year trailing only a handful of carrying yards behind Alabama’s Ingram. First I found this Whiney statement embarrassing and yelled at Ben Tate on my Big Screen TV to put his mouth where his money was and prove on the ground carrying the ball. This years Iron Bowl proved to be no doubt the surprise game of Alabama’s season with Auburn basically controlling the game with fired up passion and success at stopping Alabama’s Mark Ingram cold with brutal hits and gang tackles. However, Auburn could not keep the passion alive for the duration of the game and let the Tide execute its last possession perfectly and escaping a loss in the last few minutes of the game.  Auburn could hold their heads up for whipping the Tide but Alabama won the game and we all know that is all that matters. Everything else is never remembered. But unlike Ben Tate, Mark Ingram kept his mouth shut and his feet moving against Florida recovering what most thought lost including me that his Heisman hopes were over with. He showed humility that warms the heart of all people by not giving up. He gave his last performance all he had and managed to convince all who voted on the Heisman Trophy that he was the best in America this year. Another point I must make is this, any team that can run the table in the SEC well, they are the true National Champions regardless of any bowl game. Although I myself was pulling for Stanford’s Toby Gerhart, Mark Ingram was handed the Heisman trophy and no one can deny that he had earned it. The tears flowed from Ingram, unlike Tebow; Ingram’s tears were shed in victory and accomplishment. Not defeat. I suppose all who watched as I did felt really good for his dream paying off. I will just find it difficult to swallow the fact that now Alabama has a Heisman trophy to show off as well as just about all others. I will live, but credit must be given when credit is due. My congratulations go to Mark Ingram with sincerity. Eating crow has always been hardest of all to swallow and all I can say was that I was dead wrong about Coach Nick Saban. He has proven again he is a winner. Coach Nick Saban made a believer out of me. Now I can’t help but to wonder that if Alabama beats Texas, Which they will, would Alabama be able to keep Saban at the helm? It’s a fair question with other teams still looking for a new Head Coach. Will Saban be attracted by a new challenge at another big time program? It certainly looks as though Nick Saban is Coach fix it in NCAA Football.