Go Team!

We are starting to get a taste of autumn here in Alabama. The weather is cooling down just a tad, especially in the mornings, and the smell of fall is in the air. Mark is eagerly watching his favorite college football teams every Saturday and, to the surprise of everyone in the family, Brandon has announced that he wants to be on a football team when he gets bigger. I'm not sure where this came from. Neither of the boys have been very interested in watching, let alone playing football up until now. Maybe he is just getting to that age, or maybe it was that Natalie's middle school had a big week of to-do's leading up to their recent football game against their in-town rivals, or, maybe, the football mania that is so prevalent in the South is just rubbing off.

Upon entering Kindergarten, every kid around here is peer-pressured into choosing a team--Alabama or Auburn. A few of the stronger ones break the mold and decided to go for Tennessee, which is less common but still within the realm of respectability. I can not count the number of times that, when volunteering in the kids' classrooms at school, I have been asked by one student or another who I "go for". Being immigrants to the region, both Mark and I claim neutrality. (Although I think Mark leans on the side of Alabama.) But, as you can see from her bedroom door, Emily has become a staunch Auburn fan and Brandon has decided he is more of an Alabama man. He has taken to making a statement about his loyalties from his shoes on up. Natalie is, of course, a non-conformist but sides more with Alabama and Bryce, whose six weeks in Kindergarten haven't been quite long enough to firmly cement such a far reaching decision, seems to be moving toward Auburn. I have been seriously considering buying each of my kids a BYU t-shirt just to let them know where their real loyalties should be.

It has been very fun to watch the boys, and occasionally Natalie, running around the yard getting some pointers from their dad. Hearing Mark harp on them about not crying so much brings back fond memories of my own dad and brother. Only time will tell what kind of a football player Brandon will turn out to be, but the time spent with his dad will be something he remembers forever.