(written on the 30th as though the 29th)
Finally paid for the lawn mower tire that I got last week. Kept forgetting, and I felt bad because I figured with me not showing up, they probably figured I just skipped out without paying.
But I got it paid for today. So that’s good.
I also picked up a 2032 battery for the Apple Air tag. Now I just need to find my trailer. 😅
Managed to keep myself from doing anything stupid physically today.
I think.
At some point, I took a dip in the creek. Don’t remember when. I’m noticing more of the other kinds of fish. Little baby catfish, I think?
I love nature.
Went to my nephew’s football game. Didn’t think I was going to be gone as long as I was. It was out in Gravette, and I figured maybe a couple hours, but I didn’t realize we left multiple hours early and ended up watching most of the 7th grade game before the 9th grade game even started.
Spent some time chatting with Liz and Mike. Spent some time chatting with Hunter who had also come, but a bit later.
The game was pretty slow until the very end. It was a 7.7 tie from the second quarter on, and the home team almost won it at the end of the fourth quarter, but our hometown Blackhawks managed to push it into overtime, and amazingly, my nephew, who is super good at sports in general, ended up being the hero of the game.
He plays both sides, offense and defense, running back on offense, and linebacker on defense.
In overtime, he got The ball pitched to him and managed to weave his way through and in for a touchdown. 🎉
As they switched to go on to defense, he stayed out there, playing linebacker. On the first play, the other team ran it all the way down to about the probably 6-in line. Don’t know his name, but their number seven was an absolute beast. He had been running through all day.
But on second down and inches to go, they tried a quarterback sneak, and got stuffed.
Then on third down, they handed it back to number seven, and amazingly, probably for the first time all game, the moment he got the ball he got hammered by like three guys on defense and actually lost 4 yd.
So it came down to 4th and goal at the five, needing to score a touchdown and make the extra point to tie.
On fourth down, the quarterback backed up and then started running around the left side. My nephew, tasked with a different job, saw what was happening, and took off after the quarterback, hitting him just as he threw the ball, causing the ball to spin sideways and fall harmlessly to the ground.
Game over.
🥳
What had been A relatively boring game, for the most part, for my taste in games, anyway, had one heck of an exciting finish, and my nephew gets to relish in that experience for the rest of his life. 🙂
Not too many times that you get to be able to be the hero of the game in such dramatic fashion, and even more amazingly to be able to be the hero on both sides of the ball.
I still remember as a pitcher getting the game balls as MVP of the game in our all-star tournaments and whatnot.
Anyway… That was kind of cool.
Not much else to say. Things are challenging for a lot of people. I was brought down to earth a little bit with all my physical struggles when our neighbor called me and we talked about everything his wife is going through right now. She’s been in the hospital for I think about 2 months, now she’s got a feeding tube because she’s in so much pain, I think, that she can’t keep food down. She’s delirious, and it’s just… awful.
My pain generally isn’t the sharp excruciating kind, it’s just the ongoing kind that produces as much anxiety about what the future is going to be like as it does pain and discomfort.
Tough stuff.
Not much else to say.
- Speaking of pain, I’m grateful that it was a bit less today.
- I’m grateful to be able to have a good relationship with my hill family.
- I’m grateful to have the summer beginning to wane.
- I’m grateful that I don’t have the physical challenges that Dan’s wife is going through right now. Holy cow.
- I’m grateful to have the strength to make efforts to be grateful right now. I don’t feel the gratitude so much. Right now it’s mostly just a blank, emotionless, exercise, but I hope that persistence might break through that.
I took a very small step toward my non-profit type future, changing The YouTube handle on one of my channels to lifttheworld, so now the name of the channel and the handle are the same.
🥳
That’s one more thing to be grateful about: I felt a little bit of drive to work on the Lift the World stuff.
If I do make it through to the other side of the darkness, I will be grateful to have had the experience, and I hope that it softens me, increasing my understanding, compassion, patience and kindness toward others.
Love and hugs.
~ stephen
Lift the World 