Dear Reader:

We hear this old adage often…perhaps more often than some people want to hear it…along with the same defensive excuse …”When I finish this project” or “When I get promoted to…” this or that position…then I will have more time for my family.

I was pleased to see in the Sports Illustrated cover/article on Clemson this week that family time is one area that Dabo has not left for chance. When his son, Will, started playing football for one of the area high school teams he changed his regular routine with his college players  so he could attend Friday night football games.

If he can find a seat close enough to the concession stand…his “temptations” are “popcorn, a pickle, a Slim Jim and a Diet coke.” It makes him a happy man just being a dad watching his son play and eating his favorite “just desserts.”

Dabo’s first coach at Alabama, Billy Curry, bumped into Dabo after being named the new Clemson coach years later. He told Dabo “never  to sacrifice his family for the job;” that, Curry said, was his biggest regret.

As we all learn from hard-knock experiences…jobs will come and go,  some friends will do the same…it is family who will stick by you through the good times and bad.

Friday and Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to be with my family. Mandy called me Friday afternoon and said she had good news and bad…Buist Academy (where she teaches art) had won an award for the annual Christmas Greeting Cards (created by public schools in the area) They were now displayed and some (including hers ) would be  recognized on opening night at the Charleston Festival of Lights and Friday night was opening night.

John was sick with a sinus infection and was going to stay home to keep Jakie…she would need to take Eva Cate and leave by 5:30 to get there (because of the traffic) in time for the ceremony at 7:00. I could tell how stressful this situation was and how tired she sounded…so I told her if it suited…I would be glad to accompany her and  Eva Cate to the festival…to have another pair of eyes looking for street signs in all the Friday (very heavily congested evening traffic.)

I would then just spend the night because it was Kaitlyn’s birthday this upcoming week and we were all meeting at Five Loaves in Mt. Pleasant, Saturday for lunch, to take her out to eat for her birthday.

So off we went ….the traffic to the festival was heinous (bumper to bumper) but once we got inside…it was hardly anybody there. For the first time…we could see the lights on either side…we didn’t have to wait on the carousel and, with the exception of one elderly couple in the far back…we three were the only passengers on the train. (running every five minutes) Unbelievable! Here are some Friday night photos….

The “Mod Squad” was alive and well with Eva Cate’s choice of fashion for the festival of lights. One of Mandy’s students, who worked on the Christmas Greeting Card, was also there, along with his father. Mandy let him keep the trophy to take back to school Monday to show everyone…their greeting card was made from bottle caps…really cool.

All ended well with hot cocoa, after a chilly train ride, and the magical appearance/disappearance of the red M&M man.

Saturday morning…Eva Cate had dancing lessons and then we would be off to Five Loaves for the birthday lunch. It was great to get to watch Eva Cate dance on the television monitors.

Lunch was delicious…I think we all got soup and a sandwich…it was a soup kind of day. Of course we all ended up sharing different desserts too. Yummy!

Tommy and Kaitlyn are off to Asheville for a few days for her birthday….Have fun you two!

Lachlan got passed around like a loaf of bread…everyone’s favorite loaf of bread.

*Jakie stayed behind with dad to faithfully cheer on their Auburn Tigers…lots of tigers in this family. Rutledge played at his other grandparents home and I am sure had a ball.

Eva Cate and Lachlan got to be good pals with the absence of Rutledge…they had fun!

So until tomorrow…family is everything to me.

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

*When Mandy, Eva Cate, and I got home the kids were so happy to see each other!

*Two more pieces of great news!

1. Rutledge wasn’t scared of Santa Claus this year…In fact…he went back twice to keep chatting with him and revising his list…a firetruck for him and a monster truck for Lachlan. (Rutledge really knows how to work the system with a baby brother who doesn’t talk) 
2. Carrie passed her test! We all knew she would but still, it is nice to get the official notice confirming our confidence in this remarkable young woman! Way to go Carrie…another step closer to your vocational goals…( Next step: dream goal…Africa!)