Everything's Relative

So, it's raining in the desert. The last report I heard said that within 24 hours, we have received almost 60 percent of our total expected annual rainfall. For months, I have listened to my southern family and friends complain about rain and gloomy weather. Now, I can add my sob stories about fallen debris, standing water and tornado warnings.

But, in all honesty, other than a few anxious hours of watching weather reports that were spent following the possible tornado, AC and I have enjoyed the weather change. Rain in the desert is kind of like snow in the South, it's an event. We pull out clothes we normally don't wear, bring the umbrella out of the play clothes trunk and giggle when the water splashes all over the windshield temporarily blinding us to the outside world.

I've always heard that "one man's trash is another man's treasure", but in this case I guess you could say, "One man's depressing weather is another man's delight"!

We Dat Team

Matthew loves football. I mean he LOVES it. He could sit and watch every game that is played every weekend. He and Troy used to sit through games and quiz one another over the college from which each and every player on a team graduated. Anna Cate and I, on the other hand, enjoy one game every couple of weeks. Last fall, this caused some turmoil in our family. But, this football season, I decided that we could come to a compromise that would satisfy us all.

So, we decided to follow the Arizona Cardinals as a family this year. (Easy choice considering they are the home team and we had started cheering for them last year). The whole experience turned out much better than I expected. We made signs, ate picnics in the living room while watching and really enjoyed spending Sunday afternoons together. I was surprised that it became something that we were actually sharing together instead of Matthew watching the game and me entertaining Anna Cate. Somedays, they would actually play together and I would just watch the game.



Also, it became funny when Anna Cate would start to check the score to see if Arizona was winning and jump and cheer when they scored a touchdown. More humorous was when she would try to reassure Matthew when he would get frustrated by the game. I loved hearing her tell him it was "just a game" and there was "no reason to get so mad".
>After following them all season, it only seemed fitting that we should go to the "Send-Off Rally" held today at the airport. We arrived just as Antrelle Rolle was beginning to ask the crowd, "Who dat football team?" and the crowd responded by yelling, "We dat team!". Then Kurt Warner and Ken Wisenhunt spoke and thanked the crowd for the support. Interestingly, Warner mentioned how happy he was that the winning seasons had really encouraged community and brought families together, just like it had ours. After the speakers came the cheerleaders, the drum line and Big Red, the mascot. But, maybe the best entertainment was the over-zealous fans. Our favorite was a middle aged man dressed in full pads, black shorts, knee-high athletic socks, high top tennis shoes and a leather pilots' cap with the cardinal emblem on the side.

As we were riding home I told Anna Cate why I had thought it was such a good idea and she added that she was really "thankful we could all do something fun together" and that it was "cool seeing the people from the tv".

A Body Knows

About two months ago I abandoned my exercise and healthy eating regime. With all that was happening, I just couldn't keep the routine going, and I have to have a set routine to keep my discipline. I thought to myself that I would return to it after the holidays and that some time off wouldn't make that much of a difference. But, my body thought differently.

We spent the weekend before Christmas in Colorado Springs, total time spent driving was 24 hours, total time spent sleeping was 12 hours (over three days). I thought I was doing pretty well keeping up the pace. My body thought differently.

We enjoyed Christmas at home and then headed for Georgia to spend the holiday week with our families. The third night there, I noticed some bumps on my back. No one seemed to know what they were so we guessed that maybe Troy's little dog, Betty, may of had some fleas that had found their way to my back. (Sorry, Betty) They got a little bigger, but I really didn't think anything about them, except for the fact that they itched like crazy! A few days later, I noticed they had spread around my side and now made a neat little line straight to my belly button. At this point, I became alarmed. It was mentioned that I might have shingles, but that a doctor could only really cure the symptoms and since it was my last day in Georgia and they weren't bothering me terribly bad, I thought it would be okay to wait to go to the doctor when we returned to Arizona. My body thought differently.

By the time I got to see the doctor, I had about 100 little blisters that were tender to the touch lined up nicely around my torso. It felt like 100 little pin pricks all occurring at the same time and it hurt to sit, bend or lay down. The doctor took one look at me, and prescribed me an antiviral medication, a steroid and a topical cream treatment. Then he said I needed to rest and come see him again in two weeks.

The doctor said the outbreak was most likely due to emotional stress and being over tired. So, what did I learn from this experience? I need to seriously consider taking care of myself a top priority. I get so consumed with taking care of my family that I often put off taking care of myself. I need to sleep. My body keeps going, but obviously, the lack of rest is hurting it and my immune system. And, shockingly, I am happy to report that I also learned Matthew and AC are capable of taking care of themselves for a couple days without me. Things may not run exactly as they do under my watch, but that's okay. (And I am going to work on maintaining that attitude as one of this year's resolutions).