Turkey Bowl 2012

I should start by wishing all a Happy Thanksgiving.  What a wonderful holiday.  One of my favorites to be sure.  Might I also add at this point in the post that I am grateful for the many blessings of my life.  I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me as he does you.  Grateful for a loving Savior and for all He makes possible.  I am grateful for His gospel and the guidance and direction it gives me in my life, for the hope and the peace that it provides and for the joy that I feel because of it.  I am grateful for the testimony that I have of the restored gospel.  I am grateful for the testimony I have of the Book of Mormon.  I am grateful for the blessing of strength that these testimonies give me.  I grateful for family and friends.  I have been blessed with a wonderful family who are a tremendous strength to me and lift me up.  I am grateful for the righteous examples of my siblings and my parents.  There is great strength that comes because of those examples and because of their faith.  I am grateful for and humbled by my children.  It is hard to keep up with them.  It is hard to provide them with all they need.  There are certainly moments when I feel a great deal of inadequacy, that is real.  I rely on the Lord for the difference and it comes through loving family members and friends.  Thank you for what you have done to me and my children. 

I have to take a moment and report on the Turkey Bowl.  It went well.  The turnout was good, well better than the last two years.  Not too many from the Ward.  Just Jay, Darrin Winn and myself.  I find myself playing a little more cautious as I get older.  Perhaps one too many Turkey Bowl injuries in the past.  So I take it easy out there through I have moments where I can relive a bit of the glory days.  Like my kickoff today for example.  I set the ball on the T and went back for a running start.  I got that, planted and sent a beautiful or not so beautiful kick out there.  Well, my left didn't quite plant and so I actually went down pretty good.  My kickoff skills need some fire improvement for sure.  I was flat on my back and laughing at myself.  Perhaps cleats would be a good addition - or not.  The occasional but plant never hurt anyone.  Mmmmm, maybe that last statement is not true.  I am enjoying little bits of pain and soreness throughout my body.

It wasn't all bloopers.  I did manage a few good plays, a few touchdowns.  My favorite was a kickoff return.  I was in our end zone when I picked up the ball and everyone was saying to down it.  No way.  I took off and I somehow managed to weave my way through the kicking team and score.  I laughed in the end zone "down it" and I spiked the ball.  I have no idea how my flags managed to stay on.   Anyhow, it was a great game.  Lots of fun.  Good balance between the amount of pain I feel now and the game itself.  So, on to next year and another blooper real.  Perhaps one of these years I will decide the time has come to hang em up but for now, and while I still can, I will go out and enjoy a little football on Thanksgiving.