I've Got a New Team

About a month ago I wrote a blog about my genuine desire to pledge allegiance to a new football team. It was written after a particularly brutal loss to the Redskins but the frustration I was expressing in the piece had been a long time coming. Obviously, others shared my feelings at the time because the blog was picked up by the Trib and published on the first page of their online edition. So, I thought I would update anyone who had an emotional investment in that editorial on how my search for a new team was going. As of yesterday, I have one.

The team has a complete package. Their defense is stellar; they may give up more yardage than I would like but play with heart and conviction. They force turnovers and keep big plays against them to a minimum. The quarterback, despite being protected by an offensive line that could use a little work, has a laser throwing arm and enough intelligence to run away from trouble or throw the ball away. The rest of their offense, while not that impressive on paper, gets the job done. The coaching staff has settled on a nice mixture of passing and running the ball and the young players are doing their jobs better than anyone predicted they would when the season started.

This team has made watching football fun again. I've been checking them out for the last few weeks when they were beating teams with a losing record, just waiting to see if they really had what it takes to win me over for the long haul. After yesterday, I've decided they're for real. The game they played against a division leading team convinced me that they have enough talent and desire to make me proud on a regular basis to be their fan. It's great to feel that way again about a football team.

So I'll be there next week rooting them on. If they stumble, I'll try to remember how hard they've tried; how much progress they've made and I'll remain a loyal fan until the day I die. Oh, I haven't mentioned their name? What else could it be? The Chicago Bears.

Thankful

Yesterday was one of the best Thanksgivings ever. The food was fantastic; everybody pitched in and brought a few dishes including a few that we had never had before and the fresh turkey purchased at Costco didn't have any of that chicken broth injected into it or hormones and antibiotics fed to it before it had the bad luck to land on our dinner table. Of course, his bad luck was our good fortune. He was absolutely delicious; he tasted like what I remember turkey tasting like before the executives at Butterball decided we all wanted 15% sodium solution added to our yearly feast.

In case you might think I'm dwelling too much on the food, there was much else to be thankful for in our household. Our daughter, who's been struggling with some tough emotional issues, is doing much better. She spent the entire day with her family and we were all the better for it. We ate early and spent the rest of the time playing games and talking instead of mindlessly watching football (not that there's anything wrong with football; I'll be watching my share this Sunday).

Last but not least, I'm almost done with my novel. It may not be great (yet) but it is almost done. The crazy challenge I took on almost a month ago to write a 50,000 word novel in one month is nearly over and I can hardly believe it. I did something I never imagined I could do - I surprised myself. At my age, that's really something to be thankful for.

26,140 To Go

This is my first blog in almost two weeks and I'm not sure when you might see the next one. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm firmly enmeshed in the insanity of trying to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. All I can say is, it's amazing what you can do when you really put your mind to it. When I told my husband that this is the hardest thing I've ever done, he asked, "Harder than childbirth?" I had to think about that one. While there are some similarities and I wouldn't want to compare the pain of the two endeavors, I will say in childbirth's favor, it was over in one day. The birth of my novel is taking thirty, long, tiring days of labor and I'm still not convinced there's going to be a baby at the end of it.

Still, I'm plodding through. Through writer's block, characters spouting trite dialogue and a plot that's going in circles, I press on. I can almost see the finish line but I know that some speed bumps are waiting to knock me off track. If all else fails, I can always resort to typing my washing machine manual into my book. The challenge says 50,000 words. It doesn't say they have to make sense.