Fall, Football, Pheromones and Family

As I sit on my front porch with a hot cup of coffee, watching the sun rise, listen to the birds sing "Good Morning", I think of how peaceful it is today. Unlike the afternoon and evening hours which are hustle and bustle, filled with worry of "Did today's tasks get completed? What did I forget".

What is it about this time of year that gets people riled up? The changing of the season is definitely a big factor. Some people do not adjust well to the heat so the cooler temperatures make for cooler emotions. The physical change from humidity to blustery winds, the color of the leaves,  anticipation of joyous holidays like Thanksgiving and Halloween, special times spent with family and friends, all bring back fond memories which we desperately try to recreate and live again. Isn't it funny how when those events happened the first time we often thought of them as disasters instead of joys. As time passes the negative aspects fade away and only the cherished momemnts remain.


As summer comes to a close we are reminded of the approaching fall with the sounds of helmets and shoulder pads cracking in the crisp cool morning air. Yes folks, it's football time. Whether it's high school, college or the NFL, football is an American tradition. It's also the one aspect of fall my wife hates but I enjoy. Men seem to secrete more pheromones during this time than any other. It's testosterone hell and I love it. Although I never played football as a kid in an organized team I always wanted too. I grow up without a father figure in my life. As I grow older I realize that it embarrassed me. I shied away from things that I thought would require a father to be by my side. That's also why I never joined the Boy Scouts or Indian Guides. But I digress, back to football. I have two favorite teams, the San Fransisco 49'ers and anyone playing Dallas. I will even root for the St.Louis Rams if they are playing against Dallas, and if you know me and St.Louis teams, that means a lot.

You might say I'm stuck in the past, I fell in love with the Niners in the 80's and 90's, learned to hate Dallas at the same time. I've made it a tradition to remain loyal to things that were so important to me back then. That is when I became a family man. I got married to the woman of my dreams and had children during those years. I'm proud of what I started and what I've accomplished from that time. Now I just want to sit back, enjoy getting older and watching my family grow. I dream of sharing my joy of football with my grandchildren, spending a day with them preparing Thanksgiving, a day of pure hell and remembering those moments later in life as pure bliss. I look forward to instilling in them the family values I find important so their memories will be just as precious to them as they are to me.

Welcome back Fall, Football, Pheromones and Family. I've missed you this summer.