Friday, May 6, 2011

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Wow, it's been a long time. Probably too long. I hope I haven't lost all one of you faithful reader(s) out there.

My little sister is married. Auburn has won a national championship in football. Both my parents have had bouts with skin cancer, and we're halfway to a 100 percent cancer-free situation with both of them. Hopefully we'll know soon that mom's surgery today got rid of all the cancerous cells and they won't have to go in again.

That's just a brief synopsis of my 2011.

It's been an adventurous and surreal four-plus months. From a trip to Arizona that featured a day at the Grand Canyon and that lifelong dream of watching Auburn's players and coaches celebrating in possession of that coveted crystal football to last weekend's Rushing/Miller Royal Wedding, I haven't had a year filled with this much fanfare in such a compact period of time. It's been mostly fun and a little frustrating, but I'm not sure I'd trade it for anything.

My dad quit smoking. Tomorrow is five weeks without a single puff and over seven weeks since his last full cigarette. This is HUGE for him, and we couldn't be prouder as a family. It took a scare to get this to the point we're at now, but I'd rather live through a warning sign than the negative alternative.

Jeanie and Robert's wedding was a special day filled with so many family members and friends that I couldn't begin to list half the ones. They came from Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona, California, Washington state and Georgia. I may be leaving out some locations in there. I've been in 10 weddings now (I promise my math isn't off on this, Jennifer) and Jeanie was the calmest, coolest and most collected bride I've ever been around. Please don't take that as an insult to any other brides from the weddings I've been in...I was just blown away from the poise and lightheartedness my little sister displayed on her big day.

Mom lost a dog and gained another over the past few weeks. Not necessarily in that order. Today, she went in for a surgical procedure to remove a cancerous spot. A two-week time period with the stitches is the next biggest hurdle as the tenderness hardens and heals with time and God's grace. You should have seen how amazing she looked as the mother of the bride a week ago.

It's time for Mother's Day, Jeanie's birthday and some Jimmy Buffett at JazzFest. I spent tonight hanging out with old friends at their new house, the stepping stone into the next phase of their lives. Hopefully with them being half an hour closer, this will mean more hanging out from here on out. We've both vowed to make a better effort to do so.

I'm a little random, but that's just how 2011 has been for me. I'm sorry if it's hard to follow along. I haven't written a lot this year, and I need to get back in the habit of doing so. When CSM shut down in February, it felt like a rug was pulled out from under me and I've been doing my best to keep from free-falling without a floor below.

I got into a bad habit of feeling sorry for myself. I wanted to blame a lot of my negative outlook and attitude on other circumstances instead of taking a better outlook and viewpoint on things. Then, last week, as Jeanie got closer and closer to the biggest vows she'll ever take, something changed thanks to her. I can't put my finger on it. I don't know if I'll ever understand it. But, that something changed and I've been a lot better at finding the good in situations since.

I've been frustrated the past couple of weeks because I've been feeling a lot of frustration from others. I maybe didn't handle it all correctly, but I've tried my best to do so. I'm back to umpiring, and being out on those ball fields has been therapeutic. And hanging out with Ben last weekend and tonight has also been a big assist in my more positive outlook.

I'm not sure what the rest of 2011 will bring. I'm not sure how much more my life will change, but I'm gonna try my best to be on the look for more positive signs. God has really blessed me, my family and my friends. I've never doubted that. I'm just realizing it more clearly right now.

Pray that this trend continues.