What will I remember about the start of 2010? For starters, the most insane weather, first incredibly wet and now incredibly cold. Our pond has completely iced over solid and thick. I have been wearing a camouflaged sleeping bag whenever I have had to venture to the barn to feed the horses, thaw out frozen faucets, and chip holes in the ice in the water tanks. It makes my muscles and shoulders tighten up with shivers and my poor lips are in shreds. I do not like the inconveniences of cold weather. It would be different if I knew that this was the norm, and could have those things which are vulnerable, like the water situation, set up to be frost free and warmed. My wonderful outdoors life has been put on hold, I am being held captive, and I am doing some serious chomping with cabin fever. It has been this way now for a darn long time, way too long. I am over it and am ready for spring, or at least a thawing of the permafrost here.
The best thing by far that has happened this year, or in a long while, is that once again, the University of Alabama won the National Championship, this time for the 13th time in its history. Thankfully, in at least one area of the current chaos of the cosmos, the world is back spinning in greased grooves. It was such a special season of watching the team grow and improve, the stars emerge, and having Coach Saban's teachings and rantings pay off with the championship win, and seeing so many awards given to his fabulous players.
From the beginning of the football season Mark, my fanatically rabid fan of a husband, and I watched the games with a determined ritualistic pattern of behavior. There were certain places we sat to watch the games, particular drinks that we would have to drink in order for the team to do well, foods that were eaten or not, and most definitely some people, who mistakenly thought it would be hilarious to telephone us in the middle of the game, that remain persona non gratis. We felt it our duty to do our part to help the team get through each game with a win, no matter the sacrifice.
Superstitions have their own amusing way of growing and becoming masters of your behavior. Once a pattern of things going one way appears, there is a desperation to find the reason for it doing so, so that whatever the thing suspected of being the reason for the pattern, can be reused to same effect. If scratching the dog on the head coincides with Alabama making a score or happens when the other guys drop the football, then the dog is probably going to get a lot of scratching. Mark carried a piece of St. John the Conqueror's root in his pocket during the games and our game day outfits did not vary.
When I used to go to a season full of horse shows, the pattern I found for me to win the blue ribbon was that I had to purchase a new horse related thing before each show. Had to, or risk losing. It didn't require anything be expensive and for that matter, be needed, but I was doomed if I broke from this pattern. I also kept a penny that I had found in the bottom of my right boot, I had a laminated four leafed clover in my tack box, and a small bottle of brandy in there too, in case I needed it for consolation. A friend of mine who was also going to these shows then, had to eat tacos the night before the class or she too was lost. Whatever works, works, that is until it doesn't seem to work anymore. Then you seek out the next rabbit's foot, talisman, or good luck charm that puts things back right.
Good luck charms work because of the focus and the power of positive thinking that you give them and that makes them have strong magic. They become symbols of the hard work and energy that goes in to any endeavor to being a winner. A simple rabbit's foot doesn't have any special magic until you believe it does, and to win at anything you have to have both the magic, and the dedication to the job. Clearly Alabama had both for this year and I hope for more years to come. They sure improved the beginning of this year for me. Now we only have to wait until August or September for the next games and then see what our next rituals will be.
Until then......Roll Tide.
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