Procrastinating....

We returned from Mississippi late last night and I leave for Milwaukee early tomorrow. I need to do laundry, organize meals for the kids and um, finish the talk that I am traveling to make. But sometimes, I just need a little blog time. I need a little downtime. Oh who am I kidding? I just need to have one more cup of coffee and share my heart.

There is much to say about this trip -- seeing friends in Tupelo, in Starkville and on campus; the triplets having their first official MSU tour; and the almost 800 photos to sort through. Alas, I really can not let myself do all of that now. But nevertheless this photo makes me smile. It was homecoming for our beloved Bulldogs and we were playing Bowling Green. My hubby had warned it would not be a give-me-game and yet, we assumed there would be victory.

We looked good at first. There were touchdowns and defensive stops. The score was coming along nicely right up until halftime when most of the students left and perhaps our boys were with them in spirit cause we just stopped in our tracks. No points in the second half. Not a lot of defense. And in the end we only beat Bowling Green by one point. 21-20. Ugh.

As I download photos this morning and ponder all the encounters, hugs and promise of future fun, I am a bit emotional. The fact that I am working on slides of the triplets as little ones for my talk is not helping. But I got tickled looking at this photo because I can't help but think this whole parenting thing is kind of like being a fan of the Bulldogs...

I have loved all things maroon since the moment I first set foot on campus. No matter where life has taken Wade and I -- from Mississippi and Alabama to Chicago, Minnesota and Arizona -- anyone who knows us more than a minute, knows of our love for Mississippi State University. Our giant bulldog in the front yard welcomes friends to game day and our adorable concrete bully welcomes them at our front door year-round. We love the school where we got to know each other, where we made life-long friends and where we wandered the campus planning our future together. 

So win, lose or draw, we cheer for our teams wearing maroon. And some seasons that loyalty is rewarded with highs -- College World Series in Omaha, Gator Bowls, Sweet Sixteen. And sometimes, we scare the dog with the yelling at the television -- think loss to Tulane in 2006....

Parenting children with special needs is so much like that. So much. Some seasons, I weep with pride as my boys overcome their own challenges to perform the leading role in a musical about being different; to speak in front of college students in an effort to educate the next generation of teachers and pave the way for those coming behind us on this special needs' road; and to overcome challenges to compete in the national disability archery games. The highs of being Benjamin and Mason's mom far outweigh the lows. Far outweigh.

And yet, there are seasons -- like the one we are clawing our way out of -- where we are just like our gridiron dawgs getting stopped in their tracks Saturday night as they tried to drive down field. Three surgeries in eight months feels like the defensive line of an SEC powerhouse team just smacked us down and no one is blowing the whistle to end the play. And some days I just want to scream: sweet mercy, will someone just blow the whistle already??!!

So this photo of MSU's LaDarius Perkins crossing the goal line Saturday night makes me smile. Makes me grin from ear to ear because not only is winning a ton of fun but I feel like we are sailing in the air with him. We are crossing the finish line of this long season of surgery and we are ready to celebrate!

I have to tell you that counting the blessings of this season may just....um...well, it might just require MORE COWBELL!! Will you join me??