A Fall Year's Resolution

Pile o friends!!


Matt, Dad, and Cooper


My dad loved football. It was clearly one of his great, if not greatest, passions. When we first learned of his diagnosis we talked a lot about how we were going to enjoy the fall football season. Matt and dad were going to see the LSU/Ole Miss game, and dad and I were definitely going to catch an Auburn game. We didn’t realize then that Dad would not live to see another football season.

Over the last four or so years, I had dropped out of the football fan scene. I still enjoyed it when it was around, but I didn’t really keep up or seek it out. This year I declared a “fall year’s resolution”. I was going to change this trend; I was going to watch more football, particularly Auburn football.

Considering that I have climbed nearly every weekend this fall, I’d say I’ve done a pretty darn good job. I also picked a heck of a year to watch more Auburn football! On a couple of occassions, I kept my climbing buddies (who have zero interest in football) at Pies and Pints (a pizza joint at the New River Gorge) well past our sleeping bag times after long days of climbing to see the end of games. For my last night in NC, I had a pile of wonderful friends over for the SEC championship game. Since roughly 2% of them have even the slightest interest in the game, I disguised this as a goodbye party as well. Not sure if I convinced any to join the Auburn football family, but we sure had a marvelous time.



I am writing this from a hotel in Okemah, OK. My momma and I just finished the first day of the drive to St. George, UT. Only a momma would drive/ride 30 hours (even on her birthday!), just to turn around and fly back the next day.