On learning to win and lose; goodbye 2013

Considering that last time I posted here, I took University of Alabama (aka Bammers) to task about knowing how to lose without violence or threats, and considering that Auburn University (aka Barners) just lost a heartbreaker to Florida State, it’s only fair to note that loss.

We lost, on the biggest stage possible. It was close (which counts in horseshoes and hand grenades), but we lost.  We accept it. We’ll win again, and we’ll  lose again.

As football began in September after we had to cut down the poisoned Auburn oaks and after the disaster of the 2012 football season, we’d never ever would have believed then that we’d beat Bama, win the SEC and compete for the national championship. We are a proud Auburn family and look forward to next year.

We are disappointed but still proud, with no violence that I know of and no Twitter threats to kicker Cody Parkey for the missed field goal attempt. He saved the Tigers many more times than not. I like what Coach (of the year) Gus Malzahn told his team: sometimes you learn more from adversity than from winning.

After the year that was 2013, I know that’s true.

Even with the Tigers’ turnaround season of destiny in 2013, I’ve never been more glad to say goodbye to a year. 2013 began with emergency room visits following son's knee surgery and then staph (10 days to diagnose) and then a blood clot, Nurse Jackie on 24-hour unprepared duty, then two more surgeries before a surgeon change and God’s grace repaired most of the damage to son Will’s knee (see http://jackierwalburnwrites.blogspot.com/2013/03/awakening-from-knee-nightmare.html).

2013 ended with a walking son, a winning team and a list of things to be grateful for and to do better at in 2014.

Never good at resolutions, I’ll instead just promise to one day soon make a to-be-kept list of things I hope to do in 2014, starting with being grateful for making it through 2013 and for the knowledge that it could have been (and always can be) so much worse than what we complain and woe-is-me about.

Someday soon, I’m share my list, including my fiction class’s group resolution to write every day.

I’ll let you know how it’s going with:

• Posting here weekly
• Revising a chapter a day of “Mojo Jones and the Black Bone” (or at least a chapter every other day…);
• Getting on that dusty Total Gym;
• Signing up for that Yoga class;
• Finishing the three paragraphs that was going to be my first short story (or novella/memoir);
• Finding part-time or even full-time work doing what I do;
• Being more patient with everything and everybody;
• Being more grateful for everything and everybody;

       and

• Letting my light shine (brighter).

Stay tuned.

In the meantime, if any of my fellow Auburn fans got above their raising and didn’t handle the loss well (I haven’t seen any evidence of such), then I apologize.

And, to 2013, good riddance. You didn’t break us. We just bent a little.

Welcome to 2014, our clean slate. Anything’s possible. The Auburn Tigers proved that.

Let’s not forget the lessons we learned, the blessings (disguised and otherwise) we received, and the joy of knowing we all get a new day every day.

Song of the day:

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

By The Rolling Stones, (1969) written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

“You can’t always get what you want,

But if you try sometimes, well you just might find

You get what you need.”

Picture of the day:

War Eagle sunset at our Wild Kingdom