It was a Happy Flight Redbirds!

I should have posted this before the series started, but now it is over and I still feel like it is necessary to post it.  For baseball fans everywhere this was a seven game series that will never be forgotten - especially for those who grew up with a love for the Cardinal Nation.  I am proud to say I am a Cards fan after fighting to come back and win the series in the final game, and in Busch Stadium at that.  I only wish my brother, Marcus, would have gotten to experience the excitement as well instead of being deployed overseas.  

Twas the Night Before the World Series – written by Joe Rathert

Twas the night before the World Series, and throughout Cardinal Nation, fans dreamt of ball bats and standing ovations. Jerseys were hung in the lockers with care. This year’s Fall Classic, soon, would be there.

Nyjer Morgan was restless and rolling in bed, grudgingly eating the words he had said. Carp slept in his cleats, and Freese in his cap, while some players struggled even to nap.

The Phils had the pitching, the Brewers, the batters, but as of that night, none of that mattered. The Redbirds gave them a run for their cash, and took them each out like a week’s worth of trash.

Fans felt some guilt, for two months ago, they took their towels and gave them a throw. “The Cardinals are finished and I have great fear; we may have squandered Albert’s last year.”

But the Players not once believed they’d been licked. They made up some ground and made it up quick. With heart and resilience, the comeback came. The season hinged on its very last game.

So Albert, and Lance, Allen and Jay, and all of the Cards (except Holliday), delivered a win in game 162, then waited to see what Atlanta would do.

Their collapse was completed on that very same night. While booze filled the air, Redbirds cheered, “Happy Flight!” Most fans regret their early surrender, but this is a lesson they’d surely remember.

One test remained; a club called the Rangers. To World Series baseball, they were no strangers. Nor were the Redbirds, with history so great. Last rings in ’06, not 1908.

So with hearts full of hope Card Nations slumbered. hopes to reach four, the new Magic Number. Twas a perfect year to get number 11, and bring home the trophy to MLB Heaven.

Go Cards!

These are two things I have constantly been needing to remind myself of lately.

The first is more for my sanity, the second is more for my soul.  Both are directly related to how close I am to finishing my graduate program.  This last semester is flying by, yet while I am sitting in class I feel like the hours are dragging on and I cannot pay attention for one more second.  Then all these assignments, quizzes, lab practicals, etc hit me like a ton of bricks and I need the reminder: Keep calm and just graduate.  I know it is going to do me no good to worry.  I know I need to place my anxiety in the hands of my Father and he will take care of me.  The last month however has been a struggle.  I wake up each morning and promise myself I am going to do better, but I find that I constantly have to remind myself each day that it really is out of my control.  With each passing day, I am inching back (slowly but surely) to the place where I once was – and finding that peace in knowing that if I give everything I have, God will take care of the rest. 

Now on to the second statement… I have been so caught up in the excitement that I am going to be moving home soon that sometimes I forget to live, enjoy, and be grateful for where I am RIGHT NOW. In the past month and a half, I have gone home every other weekend for the sole purpose of seeing my family simply because I miss them.  Sometimes I associate all of the chaos and stress of school with just being in KC and it feels so good to get away.  It has been wonderful going home and I absolutely cannot wait to get back to NEMO when December rolls around.  When I realized a couple of weeks ago I only had two months left in Kansas City, it hit me that I needed to take in what was left.  I began spending more time outside of class with my friends and making sure they knew how much they were appreciated and loved.  We’ve started going out to watch the Cardinal’s play on a Wednesday night, or watching a movie even when we have things to do the next day.  Instead of constantly worrying about what assignment we have due tomorrow, we have been simply enjoying the presence of one another.

To sum it all up: I am torn between where I am and what is ahead of me.  I am going to miss the friends I have made here that have become more like family.  I am going to love being with my family each day, spending time with my parents and sister, watching my niece grow into a beautiful little girl, and start my life as a professional. For the days I don’t appreciate my beautiful life enough, I hope you can forgive me, Lord.  I promise I love exactly where I am right now :)

For all of my friends, when we go our separate ways in December – we must plan frequent reunions!