Blessings

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this beautiful, glorious, day in my Sweet Home Alabama! 😊 Additionally, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I want to share a little bit about my last two days…

Wednesday I wanted to get all of my Christmas decorations up. Landry, my youngest Tender Warrior, very kindly got all the decorations out of the attic for me so on Wednesday I could get going first thing. Additionally, my Beautiful Bride, Kathy, had gone to the store to get new, colored, lights for us to hang on the house. So, on Wednesday morning I got up, did my normal morning routine, hit a workout, and got going a little before 8:00 a.m. Throughout the day Landry ran tons of errands – to get lunch, to get a 26’ extension ladder so I could get lights to the highest peak on the house this year (finally!!!), and to the store to get propane and fire wood so we could have a fire and portable heaters when neighbors came over to sit out on the front drive and visit. Kathy was busy doing all kinds of different things to prepare our house for a family filled weekend. Payton came over after doing some work and did the lights on all of the bushes. I was up and down the ladder all day putting up lights on the house. At about 4:30 p.m. we were finished. We had dinner together and then went out front to start the fire and wait for our neighbors to arrive. Throughout the night 3 different sets of neighbors stopped by to visit and we waved to numerous others as they drove by. At about 10:00 p.m., the last neighbor left, the fire had burned out, we put everything away, and we came into the house exhausted but exhilarated from an extraordinary day. It was a lot however we had done it all together. 😊

Yesterday morning we got up, had a quick snack, and Kathy, Payton, and I went to a 5K Run (that would be Payton!) and a 1-mile Fun Run/Walk (that would be Kathy and me! 😊). We had a wonderful time! After the race we came back home, ate a quick lunch, and then all took a nap. After waking up, Payton and I got ready and headed to Oxford, MS for the Egg Bowl – the rivalry game between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Payton and I have made it a goal to visit a different SEC stadium every year and we chose to go to this game this year. With the game being on Thanksgiving, we decided as a family that we would celebrate our Thanksgiving today – Friday. Payton and I took off at about 12:30 p.m. We had a wonderful drive to Oxford. We talked about life, family, hopes, struggles, etc. We called Grandma and Grandpa. We called Uncle Phil. We called Gehrig, the only Tender Warrior I did not get to see yesterday, and talked to him and his sweet girlfriend, Ila. We got to Oxford 3 hours before kickoff, just as we had planned. We quickly found parking and then walked to The Grove – the large tailgating area at Ole Miss. It was everything we could have imagined! We, quiet accidentally, ran into the Rebel Walk or Walk of Champions – I am not sure what they call it however it is when the team arrives and walks through a tunnel of fans. It was awesome! After the walk we headed toward the stadium. We stopped at a team shop and got me a Ole Miss hat – much to my Beautiful Bride’s dismay (I say that tongue in cheek, she is very supportive), I buy a hat at each of these stadiums that Payton and I go to together. We then went into the stadium, found another team shop, and bought Payton an Ole Miss shirt (yes, he always gets a shirt on our adventures). We then got dinner – Grove Burgers and water – and then headed to our seats. We had so much fun and saw a very good game (Mississippi State won 24 – 22). Right after the game we headed back to the truck, hopped in and drove right back home. We got home at 1:15 a.m. this morning. Another day ended as the day before had – exhausted and exhilarated.

As I write this Happy Friday, my house and heart are full. Landry is taking a nap – he camped out last night and was duck hunting at first light this morning. Gehrig and Payton are in the living room watching the World Cup match between USA and England. My Beautiful Bride is putting the finishing touches on our Thanksgiving dinner. The smells of turkey, ham, and stuffing fill the house. My precious fur babies are wondering everywhere, hoping somebody will give them a bite of something! 😊

So, what is my point? I truly believe that what matters most in this life are people and the relationships we have with them. Has everything been “perfect”? No. There were challenges and struggles in putting up the decorations. And yes, we get frustrated with each other. It wasn’t ideal to be leaving Kathy alone on Thanksgiving while Payton and I drove to Oxford. It would have been great to be able to spend time with Gehrig. And we didn’t get to celebrate Thanksgiving when everyone else did. Having said that, I honestly don’t think I would have changed a thing. We all get to make choices and there are consequences to every choice we make. I wanted my house ready for Christmas and I got to do that with my family. I wanted to visit with my neighbors and I got to do that. Payton and I had chosen this game, we discussed it with the family, and we all knew how we would celebrate our Thanksgiving. As I reflect, the greatest choice I think I made over the last few days was to be fully present AND fully engaged. Whatever I was doing I was there – physically and mentally! I want to encourage you to do the same. Yes, there were times when my mind wanted to wonder or I wanted to think if I should be doing something else. And each time, I pushed back those thoughts and chose to be who I was with, doing what I was doing.

We all have blessings, countless things to be grateful for, if only we will take the time to see and enjoy them. THAT is my hope and prayer for each one of us – that we would recognize and genuinely appreciate each blessing, every day…not just one day per year.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious family and every moment with them, and please stay well!

Now, I am going to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family! 😊

Kev