Sometimes, a little distraction is just what’s needed

Lately, Kelly and I have been having a pretty rough time in general.  We have managed so far to keep our chins up, mainly due to our love for each other and our little furry kids.  But it has also been encouraging that we have gotten a lot of emotional (and sometimes material) support from friends and family, and lately that has also helped us to keep our heads above water financially.  So since I feel like I have not said thank you to all of those people nearly enough, I will say so again here.  Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.  I honestly don’t know what we would do without all of you.

And sometimes just getting out somewhere and getting our minds off our troubles helps us too.  Much to our surprise our friends Beth and Noah asked us to accompany them to the Patriots’ season home opener in Foxboro yesterday.  And since Kelly is a huge Pats fan, and I have never been to a game but would like to see one at least once, we agreed to go.  We both thought that the game would be a much needed pleasant distraction from all of the problems we have.  And it was.

After church, we made a quick stop at a City Sports because Jo (Kelly’s mom) had given her an Amex gift card for her Bridal Shower, she still hadn’t used it, and they were having a sale.  So we decided to get some Patriots stuff.  Kelly got a sweatshirt (which came in handy later) and I got my first Patriots shirt I have had since I was a kid.

So after stopping at the house to change and take care of the kids, we headed off to Foxboro to meet Beth and Noah.  We had also discovered that one of my favorite stores in the world, Bass Pro, had some items on sale that I desperately needed.  I had taken my old hiking boots (which I had literally wrecked) and one of my old pairs of sneakers to be recycled a few weeks ago and needed to replace them.  So I was able to get a new pair of boots and a new pair of sneakers for under $60 – quite a feat, really.  I didn’t get to linger long in the store, but it’s just as well because except for the shoes we really weren’t there to spend any money.  Sigh.

Anyway, the three of them headed off to the stadium as I walked back to the car to drop off my new shoes as well as my Leatherman which I had forgotten to take off my belt.  Then I caught up with them after the game had already started.  Noah had mentioned our seats were in the nosebleed section, and he wasn’t kidding.  I practically had to get a Sherpa guide to take me to my seat.  We hardly ever saw any vendors, and I think it was because they were all passing out from the thinner air before they got to us.  Those were some very, very high seats.  But what a view.  And much to my surprise, there were some Revolutionary War era reenactors down on the sidelines in full costume.  It turns out they were firing volleys after every Patriots touchdown or score of any kind.  Almost makes me wish I had that period stuff.  I wonder how much they get paid to be there?

So we had fun watching the game, and of course Kelly and Noah had a great time since they are die-hard Pats fans.  But even Beth and I were having fun, and it was a pretty exciting game.  I was impressed when this one guy made his first career interception, which is apparently rare  for a defensive tackle.

I also thought it was cool that after the game ended, one of the people in costume, someone much shorter than the others (and didn’t appear to have a musket – drummer or fifer maybe?) was jumping up and down very excitedly as the team ran past, and suddenly number 85, Ochocinco, stops and talks to them a while and then gives them a big hug.  I thought that was really cool of him.

Anyway, we had a great time and it was wonderful to get out and enjoy the game and the company of our friends.

-Geoff