Wednesday HodgePodge (9/12/12)

1  ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? The NFL is back in action along with all the college teams.  Are you a fan?  Who do you root for?  If you're not a fan what do you do while the rest of America watches Saturday, Sunday, Monday night, and now Thursday night games? 

I love football season.  Mostly, it's just because I enjoy the community mentality people seem to have when we gather to cheer for hometown high.  Life always seems a bit cozier during football season.  Everyone seems to be heading the same direction and hoping for the same things.

I'm sure that probably sounds simplistic, but that's the feeling I get every year around this time.

I will say I know next to nothing about football.  Favorite occasionally tries to explain, but he usually ends up laughing at my clear belief that no team should be more than one down.  They should call the next one a second down to keep confusion at bay.  Alas, no one asks me.

(And for the record, with my lack of knowledge, I think it's probably good I didn't grow up anywhere in the SEC.  I would've had to move...)

2.  What's something I'll always find in your closet?

Cardigans--generally with 3/4 sleeves.  I have them in all colors, and purchase them in droves when I can find them because I wear them year-round.  Apparently, that's not a desired sleeve length for all people in all seasons.  Just me.

3.  Share one of your earliest memories.

The only thing that comes to mind are my imaginary friends--Tizzy and Lizzy.  I remember they used to follow me around, but they had a big crowd of kids that came with them.  Apparently the kids in the crowd didn't have names.  I would just talk and talk and talk to them. 

4.  What circus act best describes your week so far?

I don't know that I'm an act so much as an observer.  (Right now, I do little more than eat, sleep, read and panic over what the advanced class is going to do next.)  And trust me when I say the three ring circus becomes less appealing when it includes people you love.

5.  What's a food you disliked as a child that you love now?

Pistachios.  The first time I ate a pistachio I remember thinking it was the grossest thing in the world and why did adults go crazy for them.

At some point in time, I fell in love.  I have no explanation, but I've heard your taste buds change every seven years or so.

Which is interesting since I've always hated bananas.

6.  Describe your summer in three words.

Hot.  Surprising.  Awakening.

7.  Where were you on September 11, 2001?  Will you do anything special to mark the day?

I was standing on campus having a conversation with a friend before I headed to the student center.  Another person I knew came up and said, "A plane just hit the twin towers."  I remember getting a really surreal feeling and wondering if it was a stunt gone bad.  I mean, people want to fly under the St. Louis Arch so maybe they tried to fly between the twin towers?

When I got to the student center, I joined crowds of students and professors who didn't even sit down as they stared, gaping at the televisions.  

Mostly, I can remember the world didn't feel very big that day.  It felt suffocating and dark.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I have a few scriptures attached to my computer screen at school.  They've become like prayers to me, and I can remember the exact reasons I posted two of them more than six months ago.  

The third came from a colleague's husband who posted it on Instagram.  It resonated with me and I definitely recognized God's deep faithfulness in my life--certainly not because of what I am, but because of who He is.

1.  "Let him who walks in darkness & has no light 
trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God" (Isaiah 50:10)

2.  "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14)

3.  "Not to us, Lord, not to us
          but to your name be the glory,
         because of your love and faithfulness"
                             --Psalm 115:1 (NIV)
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