Football 11, Sports Mama 1

This was Week 12 of the regular football season. Some of you might not know this; others of you not only know it, but could quote me stats from the season to date. Today, it doesn't matter which category you fall into. Because today Coach did something that pretty much guaranteed he would be able to enjoy our upcoming 16th anniversary with me.

I had to go inspect some new properties today for work, as I missed a few days last week. (Stupid allergic reaction to the antibiotic left my arms and legs numb....and as um, interesting?, as it was to drive that way it was somewhat dangerous. And I wasn't feeling like living on the edge of danger this week.) These properties, while a little under an hour from my office, are well over that from my house. I was looking at a road trip from one end of our Valley to the other. Literally. It was definitely going to be an all day event. Coach decided he wanted to go with me.

But...??? It's Sunday. Um, football is on. ALL DAY. Did he realize I wasn't going to be home? ALL DAY. Seriously, dude. ALL DAY.

Yep. And it will be FUN.

So off we went. Leaving the boys at home. (And I don't know if it's sad or just amusing that not only did we not hear from them for hours, we didn't notice that lack of communication.) We left the house at somewhere near ten in the morning, and headed on our journey. Our first stop? Mervyn's. What? It's the last 6 days of the big Going Out of Business sale. And? It was his idea. Why would I argue with that? Besides, Bug got a cool Christmas gift out of that stop. Also? It was kind of strange shopping in a store where even the fixtures are for sale. Who needs a mirrored floor to ceiling pillar, anyway?

From there it was off to Circuit City. Who, coincidentally enough is also going out of business here in the Valley. Sadly, offering nothing better than 30% off (and no store fixtures, either, which by this point was disappointing), we walked out of there with only some photo paper for the printer. (Remember these pictures? Well, we need photo paper for that project.) Finally! We were headed out to do my property inspections. And we had only detoured by about an hour or so.

We stopped at my office for lock boxes, and stopped by another house I manage which I've been telling Coach about, and he wanted to see it. (GORGEOUS house.... 4 bedroom/3.5 bath main house with a separate 1 bed/1 bath guest house out back, and more amenities than I could possibly list here! I'm telling you... absolutely stunning house!) And then we were off to the first new house. Where we met a couple of the neighbors, one of whom was quick to inform me that the neighborhood was trying to keep the age limit of the area up, so could I please not rent to families with children? Seriously, dude? After pointing out to him that Federal Fair Housing laws made that particular practice ILLEGAL, and I wished the neighborhood luck with that particular venture, he got frustrated and walked back to his front porch, where he stood until Coach and I drove off.

And stopped for lunch on our way to the next house. At this point, as boring as this day is probably sounding, I was having a ball. I was having so much fun with him that I started to feel guilty. After all, I was keeping him away from his beloved football today. Wanna know what he said?

Today? Honey, today... football doesn't matter. You matter.

We ended up being gone for almost 8 hours today. And it might have been because the Redskins game wasn't televised. It might have been because I kept the car radio tuned to the current game. But for one day; one day that should have been uneventful but instead turned out to be so very much more; for this one day......

I was more important than football.

And that, more than anything else he could have done or said, makes me believe that after 16 years together, through various levels of marital hell, he loves me.

He.Loves.Me.