a year and a month and orange colored glasses

so i have been married for a year and a month today. my how it does fly.

i have learned many things about who i am, who i am striving to be and how blessed and loved i am by the Father in the way that He would find me worthy to share the rest of my life with Sam. it seems to me even now that there was never anyone except him and that even all the years we spent without each other we somehow were together the entire time. strange, but perhaps you too understand.

a great deal of what i have learned this year is nestled deeply in the events that unfolded this past weekend as we traveled to knoxville to see the vols play their first game of the season. let me just say that this event was made possible by my hand, and mine alone. in a moment of deep admiration, or momentary insanity, i bought the tickets for sam as a gift. i must be honest...the whole football "thing" is still quite lost on me. i try and i try and i try, and some days are notably better than others, but most times i just stare at the screen in confusion and boredom. yes, my husband knows this and loves me despite it. i however, am continually learning to hold my tongue, though at times i slip in moments of complete frustration with the reality that the only thing i see on my television screen throughout the fall is green turf, stadiums full of screaming fans, many whom are women (another thing i do not get), and men repeatedly smashing into each other...not to mention a clock that is seemingly never winds down!

we woke early, grabbed our starbucks and headed into the sunrise where we laughed and cheered together each time we drove past a fellow fan bathed in orange, as we were, on their way to the same game. this was undoubtedly my favorite part of the day. even though i may never fully understand the passion and intensity that drives these sports-fans i will always love my husband for showing me the beauty of his humanity and the ripeness of his passion. UT football is not the only place where i see this but it is a big part of what defines him. and i would be lying if i said i wasn't excited to be on my way and in that moment, alive and able to share it with him. i was very excited...and i must admit, being at the game is much better than watching it on the television.

so we arrive in knoxville, exit the high way and hear a hideous sound coming from the 13 year old jeep that we so lovingly call, Goldie. Sam pulls over into the mall parking lot, opens the hood and notices that some sort of liquid is streaming out onto the pavement. we find our way to a shop, the guy takes a look at it and says he can fix it in 30 minutes, once the parts get in. with about two hours to spare, the two hours in which sam had hoped to take in all of the day's festivities, we decide to wait. two hours later, with twenty minutes till the kickoff, sam asks about the progress. we are told, by a different employee, that Goldie will not see the sun again for at least another couple of hours. enraged, sam calls a cab. we fly, well not really, we would have flown but the cab driver drove slower than old man river and chatted us up. we jump out of the cab, run/speed walk down the rest of the strip and towards Neyland stadium. the game has begun.

we finally find our entrance, power walk up two very large hills, shin-splints burning, and climb our way up to our seats on the very very very tip top of the stadium. it did not take long until i realized that the stupid thing moved (and anyone who knows me knows that does not fly well). hot. exhausted. frustrated. thirsty. scared. i am unable to separate these emotions from the excitement surrounding me. sam, however, is elated and his face lit with emotion. ROCKY TOP! being the sweet husband that he truly is, he tries to comfort me about the shaking of the stadium and that i really am safe. and i don't want to ruin his day, especially since he has been such a good sport about missing his beloved vol-walk.

the sun is hot but the company is good and the Vols are kicking some kentucky butt! we ended up getting some seats in the shade after half time and smelling body odor as it wafted into our nostrils. it stung a bit. all in all it ended up to be a great day. we rescued Goldie and she made the trek home.

its never a fun experience to have to deal with car troubles but i will say how thankful i am that it happened when and how it did because it could have been worse, the situation as a whole. and it is in these things that i am reminded of the Father's love. that He does take care of us even when things don't work out the way we wish them to.

and though it cost us that day, monetarily speaking, all of that falls off and loses its meaning when i realized we were safe, we were together and we were going home. nothing matters more than that. nothing. oh, that and the Vols won.