My own reflection … The 2006 Buckeyes had no sooner returned from the desert when their top 3 returning junior offensive threats announced that they were bolting for the NFL. Add that to the number of seniors already leaving and the 2007 version of Buckeyes suddenly looked hopelessly green. A chance at another big ten title, let alone a nation title, seemed utterly ridiculous. But here we were on January 7th playing once again for the national title. Sure, I wish we had won. And like a lot of fans, I woke this morning still smarting from the loss. Still, I am proud of our Buckeye football program -three shots at a national title within six years.
Go Bucks!
I was up at 5:30am ready to get my groove on. Granted, it was Monday, but this was no ordinary Monday. This was national championship Monday. Despite falling asleep last night with an extremely achy body, I felt pretty good after a full night’s rest. Coffee was already on, that I confirmed. I completed a full round of exercises after choking down a vitamin and another anti-inflammatory.
By 5:50am Ykraps and I headed out the door. It was plenty warm – probably mid 50’s. I wore a light fleece jacket over my pajamas. It was 6:03am by the time we returned home for coffee. I read a few headlines before delivering Mindy’s coffee bedside. She was slow to wake and reported being tired after a poor night’s sleep. This was to be her first day back to school after a long Xmas break.
I did a ten minute meditation before dressing and setting out on a run. I purposefully sat in such a way as to stretch my thick inner thigh muscles that so often ache. I found that if I sit with my arches touching one another that it stretches those muscles better than any other perch I have found. I discovered this over Xmas break and for the first time in almost a year they are beginning to loosen. Let’s hope the trend continues.
I left for my run about five minutes early. I encountered the usual cast of characters while running. Even the students were waiting at their respective bus stops once again. Life has returned to normal after a 2.5 week sabbatical. My run went well. I worked up quite a sweat.
Mindy finished our scrambled eggs upon my return and gave me the option of cheese. I accepted. No sooner had I sat to eat did Mindy & Bella depart for school. Jacob was wearing his Donald Washington Buckeye jersey. Jokingly, I tried talking him into wearing his full uniform. He didn’t bite. Before heading up to the shower I hurried to the basement where I put another coat of deepberry paint on a small piece (about 12”x12”)of drywall. We were doing this to not only see the color on a larger scale but so we can try out some different faux finishes. It didn’t take long to paint and clean-up. I was headed to the shower by 7:35am.
I turned on my new shower radio, a stocking stuffer from Mindy, tuning into NPR. I was surprised that they were talking about the BCS championship game slated for later tonight. That got me a bit fired up! I dressed nicely for work since we would be attending a funeral directly after work and leading up to the big game.
Jacob and I revisited our old routine. He walked to the bus stop at 7:55am, and I drove and met him there. Pat & Alanna arrived about the same time. We talked only briefly about the big game and soon parted ways after the bus picked up the kids.
Work went well, although we were very busy. I planned a lunch run to Lowes to look specifically for a special plastic screw that holds those plastic straps to a deck chair. I noticed that one of ours snapped after the cover blew off last week. Having it in disrepair drives me bonkers. I also stopped at Target to see if they had Wii remotes. Mindy’s niece, Julie needs another for her box. I told her that I’d look for one. They were all out!
However, I did find a plastic trim screw at Lowe’s that looks like it might do the trick.
I was gone just under and hour. I was back by 1:45pm. Like many other days, I grabbed my packed lunch before heading back to my office. I spent the second half of my day working through a number of issues. I took a few minutes to pay the balance on our Mt Hood condo, too. Glad to have that out of the way. Come 5:15pm I left for home. I feared the coming rush after arriving home.
Mindy was busy packing lunches and feeding the kids when I arrived home. I walked Ykraps alone even though Mindy intended to go along with me. Soon after my return I primped for the funeral service. Mindy did the same after readying the kids. Jacob & I grabbed our Buckeye gear to change into later. We left the house at 6:15 headed to Crossroads United Methodist Church where the funeral was being held. We arrived just before 6:30pm.
The funeral service didn’t begin until 7pm, but there were calling hours prior to that. We talked with the family & paid our respects to Veronica Gadomski before finding a seat. The funeral was sweet. Several family members and friends spoke of Veronica’s life. Some were sad, while some were funny. Her grand daughter even sang her a song. It was nice! Veronica, as I understood it, was born in Yugoslavia. At the tender age of 20 she & her 2 year old brother were separated from their mother and father as their homeland was raided and bombed. She made it her life’s work to protect her younger brother. In her long two year journey she avoided several raids and bombing attacks often times draping her own small frame over her younger brother to ensure his safety. At some point she knitted a sweater for him literally out of rags she managed to disassemble. The family had the sweater in a glass frame for observance. Nothing short of amazing. As told by family members, her entire life was dedicated to helping others never once complaining about her own condition or circumstances. I couldn’t help but think of my own grandmother who passed 3+ years ago. She led a similar selfless life.
As nice as the funeral was, I was getting anxious for the football game. It was approaching 8pm. Yikes! Finally, we loaded back into the Trooper at 7:55pm. I handed my cell to Mindy to return Bob I.s call. We had talked of meeting at Barley’s. I was convinced, however, that the place would be packed wall-to-wall with rabid fans. Taking the kids and being tired didn’t seem like a smart thing. But the kids were very disappointed to say the least. They both expressed great sadness with my position. In the meantime, Bob was still at home having not committed to going anywhere since he’d heard from no one. Not wanting to disappoint everyone, I figured we’d at least check it out. If it were packed we all agreed that we’d simply go home. Bob phoned just as we pulled into the lot to let us know that there were several tables available. The lot echoed that. Parking was not an issue at all. We got a booth just to the west of the giant screen – pretty darn good seats. Kick-off was literally two minutes after we arrived. I never did change out of my dress clothes.
Aside from Bob Imber, there were a few other familiar faces there, too. Rick, Thad and Monica, and Bob’s neighbor Jeff & son. There were several other Buckeye fans too. And just like last year’s game, the Bucks lit things up in a hurry scoring twice inside the first five minutes to be up 10-0. If it weren’t for a penalty, they could’ve easily went up 14-0.
In fact, minutes later, after a muffed punt by LSU, we almost had a opportunity to score again. The theme here is that we let opportunity slip by and before we knew it, LSU stormed back. Down only by 14 through most of the second half we never really got close. It was painful.
We left Barley’s at halftime and hurried home to tuck the kids into bed and then find our own. I was in bed before the second half kick-off. It was hard to watch what seemed obvious. We were going to lose two national championship games in a row. Yuck!
I admittedly felt quite a bit of anxiety and couldn’t fall asleep after the game ended. But it’s human nature to care and feel the disappointment. An attempt to deny those feelings would only serve me worse, I figured. I must’ve finally drifted off to sleep around 12:30am.
Go Bucks!
I was up at 5:30am ready to get my groove on. Granted, it was Monday, but this was no ordinary Monday. This was national championship Monday. Despite falling asleep last night with an extremely achy body, I felt pretty good after a full night’s rest. Coffee was already on, that I confirmed. I completed a full round of exercises after choking down a vitamin and another anti-inflammatory.
By 5:50am Ykraps and I headed out the door. It was plenty warm – probably mid 50’s. I wore a light fleece jacket over my pajamas. It was 6:03am by the time we returned home for coffee. I read a few headlines before delivering Mindy’s coffee bedside. She was slow to wake and reported being tired after a poor night’s sleep. This was to be her first day back to school after a long Xmas break.
I did a ten minute meditation before dressing and setting out on a run. I purposefully sat in such a way as to stretch my thick inner thigh muscles that so often ache. I found that if I sit with my arches touching one another that it stretches those muscles better than any other perch I have found. I discovered this over Xmas break and for the first time in almost a year they are beginning to loosen. Let’s hope the trend continues.
I left for my run about five minutes early. I encountered the usual cast of characters while running. Even the students were waiting at their respective bus stops once again. Life has returned to normal after a 2.5 week sabbatical. My run went well. I worked up quite a sweat.
Mindy finished our scrambled eggs upon my return and gave me the option of cheese. I accepted. No sooner had I sat to eat did Mindy & Bella depart for school. Jacob was wearing his Donald Washington Buckeye jersey. Jokingly, I tried talking him into wearing his full uniform. He didn’t bite. Before heading up to the shower I hurried to the basement where I put another coat of deepberry paint on a small piece (about 12”x12”)of drywall. We were doing this to not only see the color on a larger scale but so we can try out some different faux finishes. It didn’t take long to paint and clean-up. I was headed to the shower by 7:35am.
I turned on my new shower radio, a stocking stuffer from Mindy, tuning into NPR. I was surprised that they were talking about the BCS championship game slated for later tonight. That got me a bit fired up! I dressed nicely for work since we would be attending a funeral directly after work and leading up to the big game.
Jacob and I revisited our old routine. He walked to the bus stop at 7:55am, and I drove and met him there. Pat & Alanna arrived about the same time. We talked only briefly about the big game and soon parted ways after the bus picked up the kids.
Work went well, although we were very busy. I planned a lunch run to Lowes to look specifically for a special plastic screw that holds those plastic straps to a deck chair. I noticed that one of ours snapped after the cover blew off last week. Having it in disrepair drives me bonkers. I also stopped at Target to see if they had Wii remotes. Mindy’s niece, Julie needs another for her box. I told her that I’d look for one. They were all out!
However, I did find a plastic trim screw at Lowe’s that looks like it might do the trick.
I was gone just under and hour. I was back by 1:45pm. Like many other days, I grabbed my packed lunch before heading back to my office. I spent the second half of my day working through a number of issues. I took a few minutes to pay the balance on our Mt Hood condo, too. Glad to have that out of the way. Come 5:15pm I left for home. I feared the coming rush after arriving home.
Mindy was busy packing lunches and feeding the kids when I arrived home. I walked Ykraps alone even though Mindy intended to go along with me. Soon after my return I primped for the funeral service. Mindy did the same after readying the kids. Jacob & I grabbed our Buckeye gear to change into later. We left the house at 6:15 headed to Crossroads United Methodist Church where the funeral was being held. We arrived just before 6:30pm.
The funeral service didn’t begin until 7pm, but there were calling hours prior to that. We talked with the family & paid our respects to Veronica Gadomski before finding a seat. The funeral was sweet. Several family members and friends spoke of Veronica’s life. Some were sad, while some were funny. Her grand daughter even sang her a song. It was nice! Veronica, as I understood it, was born in Yugoslavia. At the tender age of 20 she & her 2 year old brother were separated from their mother and father as their homeland was raided and bombed. She made it her life’s work to protect her younger brother. In her long two year journey she avoided several raids and bombing attacks often times draping her own small frame over her younger brother to ensure his safety. At some point she knitted a sweater for him literally out of rags she managed to disassemble. The family had the sweater in a glass frame for observance. Nothing short of amazing. As told by family members, her entire life was dedicated to helping others never once complaining about her own condition or circumstances. I couldn’t help but think of my own grandmother who passed 3+ years ago. She led a similar selfless life.
As nice as the funeral was, I was getting anxious for the football game. It was approaching 8pm. Yikes! Finally, we loaded back into the Trooper at 7:55pm. I handed my cell to Mindy to return Bob I.s call. We had talked of meeting at Barley’s. I was convinced, however, that the place would be packed wall-to-wall with rabid fans. Taking the kids and being tired didn’t seem like a smart thing. But the kids were very disappointed to say the least. They both expressed great sadness with my position. In the meantime, Bob was still at home having not committed to going anywhere since he’d heard from no one. Not wanting to disappoint everyone, I figured we’d at least check it out. If it were packed we all agreed that we’d simply go home. Bob phoned just as we pulled into the lot to let us know that there were several tables available. The lot echoed that. Parking was not an issue at all. We got a booth just to the west of the giant screen – pretty darn good seats. Kick-off was literally two minutes after we arrived. I never did change out of my dress clothes.
Aside from Bob Imber, there were a few other familiar faces there, too. Rick, Thad and Monica, and Bob’s neighbor Jeff & son. There were several other Buckeye fans too. And just like last year’s game, the Bucks lit things up in a hurry scoring twice inside the first five minutes to be up 10-0. If it weren’t for a penalty, they could’ve easily went up 14-0.
In fact, minutes later, after a muffed punt by LSU, we almost had a opportunity to score again. The theme here is that we let opportunity slip by and before we knew it, LSU stormed back. Down only by 14 through most of the second half we never really got close. It was painful.
We left Barley’s at halftime and hurried home to tuck the kids into bed and then find our own. I was in bed before the second half kick-off. It was hard to watch what seemed obvious. We were going to lose two national championship games in a row. Yuck!
I admittedly felt quite a bit of anxiety and couldn’t fall asleep after the game ended. But it’s human nature to care and feel the disappointment. An attempt to deny those feelings would only serve me worse, I figured. I must’ve finally drifted off to sleep around 12:30am.
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