#20

He’s not two, in Germany, learning to talk. 

He’s not twelve, in middle school, obsessed with football.

He’s twenty, in college, pursuing a dream.

Happy birthday, Evan! I’ve loved every bit of the last twenty years with you. May this year be filled with joy, peace, and good grades! Love you big!

Double Date

Weekend bbqs. Concerts. Festivals. Live music. Weekends on the water. This is what I imagined life would look like when my sister moved to Tennessee. But softball and soccer get in the way of all of that and coordinating schedules is next to impossible. It’s been three months, but we finally got our first double date. 

At the Ryman!

Watching one of my favorites perform, Cole Swindell.

It’s a school night, and we were all out past dark livin’ life on the wild side. 

The Biggest Day of the Year - 15 Years Ago

Fifteen years ago Halloween was the best day of the year. The excitement of choosing a costume, trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, walking down dark streets with flashlights, and the candy! Oh, the candy! It was always so exciting for my boys. I used to wonder how they got so amped up about something that, as a kid, I never found very much fun. But just a few short years ago, the boys picked out costumes in September and wore holes in them before Halloween night. They typically choose super hero costumes and used their imaginations to play out scenarios that always had them saving the day.

Now they go to questionable Halloween parties on a Saturday night with their girlfriends. They return home in the wee hours when the party gets “out of hand.” 

They find costumes that shock instead of impress - like the Hugh Hefner look here - and take pics downtown at 3:00am.

Oh, for a time machine to take me back to 2007! But in all fairness I’m actually loving being in my bed at 7:00 with a book in my hand. I remember wishing and needing that so badly in 2007. And now I have it - just not with my superheroes. 

UTK Homecoming

It’s homecoming week at UTK. The fountain water is orange and the pledges are busy pomping getting that float ready for the parade. Evan was relieved to have no responsibility for any decorations beyond teaching others how to pomp. 

This year’s theme is Salute to Smokey. Smokey X will retire this year, and his son, Smokey XI, will soon take his place on campus. 

We had a big win at today’s game, but it was all a bit anticlimactic after last week’s win. 

AGR won first place in the annual homecoming competition. Here’s the winning float:

Evan texted me at 7:12 this morning and told me to call when I was free. My first thought was “He’s in jail after celebrating that homecoming win with champagne showers.” I put off calling him for an hour to make sure I was as calm as possible when he delivered the news. As it turns out, he was up early studying trying to get his work done so he could watch the Cowboys game. 

Never have I have ever been more relieved. 

I see this pic and think Evan needs his great-grandpa Cody’s cowboy hat to finish the look. Who would have thought?

Girls Soccer

Senior year means celebrations and many lasts. Thursday night Keagan celebrated the girls’ soccer team’s Regional win, the first in school history. 

Tonight was substate, but the girls weren’t able to pull out a win. Madi took off those cleats for the last time. 

They celebrated a memorable season at their favorite restaurant. (This restaurant owner will never recover from the girls’ graduation; he pays his bills with their biweekly visits.)

Aftermath

The single best text I have ever received while in church. 

Here’s the AL knee brace he found left behind on the field. 

I feel so much better writing big checks three times a year when he is making these memories. 

Orange Crush

My day started early! I was up at dawn to avoid the crowds, the traffic, and also make it back home in time to watch the Tennessee game. Vikki and I went to the Bell Buckle craft fair with just about every other Middle Tennessean. This is the only thing I really wanted to buy; well this and a giant corn dog. But I practiced some self-control and kept on walkin’.

The game of the year, and not only was I attending a craft fair but I signed up for an evening floral class with some friends. I had to peel myself away from the tv and a tied game in the fourth quarter, but you better believe I had my ESPN app right beside me as I cut flowers. 

Isn’t it gorgeous? 

But maybe not as pretty as this. 

Or this. 

Evan is right there! See him? He’s in orange and celebrating like it’s been 15 years since Tennessee beat Alabama. If you are having trouble spotting him, I got a close up. 

And his contribution to the celebration can be seen from miles away. 

What. A. Game! It’s great to be a Vol!