Snow, Rusty and The Good Things from 2010

I haven't written a blog in a while so I figured I'd write to tell you what is going through my head. First off, the picture I enclosed is from the Monday Night Football Game between the Falcons and Saints a few weeks back. Unfortunately, the Falcons lost but Andrea and I had a great time anyway.

We had 4 to 6 inches of snow in Atlanta. That's the equivalent of 24 inches in the northeast. Snow is like a nuclear weapon in the south. Everything closes and everyone heads to the store to buy several gallons of milk and dozens of loaves of bread. We are fine at our house. We used an old inner-tube for a sled to slide down our driveway multiple times. Andrea and I spent the last couple of days shoveling the driveway so we could get out today.

It's been about two months since Rusty passed away but I still think about him constantly. I'm glad they have a suspect in custody and while I'm full of hateful thoughts about this man, I know Rusty would tell me not to focus on him. I miss the big guy. I miss getting random e-mails about meeting for lunch or hitting the batting cage or just coming over for dinner.

I'm sorry for his wife and kids. I know they are hurting too and I know how much they loved him. I remember a few weeks before Rusty's death, the four of us double-dated and saw The Social Network. Afterwards, my Andrea and I talked about the movie's theme, how it was very interesting and how the acting was superb. Rusty and his Andrea were giggling amongst themselves during the movie about something and when the movie concluded finally I asked "What is so funny?" He told me that the Harvard scenes were incorrect. It was something about the bridge in one scene. I didn't go to Harvard so I'm not familiar with the landscape. I would have applied to this Ivy League giant, only I wasn't sure if the dean of admissions had a sense of humor or not. The fact that both of them could laugh at a bridge being out of place shows how perfect they were for each other and what a great couple they were. I continue to pray for Rusty's entire family from his wife and kids to his parents and brother and in-laws. I know they all loved him very much and the pain of losing him will never go away.

Now onto some positives.

I'm looking forward to the Falcons game on Saturday night. This city has not had a winning team in so long. We are overdue. I hope the dome is loud for the Packers on Saturday and that the Falcons move on to the NFC Championship Game.

I'm still keeping my weight around 182 which is 15 pounds better than September. I have several speeches on tap this year and am working on becoming a better public speaker. I found myself putting together a few photo albums this weekend as I didn't want to lose any of our old pictures that were just sitting around. I've found myself getting sentimental lately. Maybe it just replaces depression during the winter. Either way, it's positive so I'm not going to try to find reason in it. I'm putting more pictures in frames. I'm taking more pictures and videos of the children and Andrea. I'm stopping to take a breath and look at the sky at least once a day. I don't know if it was Rusty's death that has caused me to do that or if I'm just realizing that the kids will only be little once.

Everyone keeps telling me that they hope 2011 will be better than 2010. There were parts of 2010 that were awful. I'm not going to lie, however; there were some good things too. My father's health is much improved. Andrea and I got to take the kids to Disney for the first time. I got to know Rusty a lot better before he died. His friendship meant a lot to me and his Andrea's friendship means a lot to me. I got to take my Andrea to her first playoff game. I lost 15 pounds and improved all of my health numbers. Andrea's brother got to come into town to see the kids and we got to visit him in Los Angeles. My best friend Ross got married and I got to be the best man. I was able to make some new friends and able to rekindle friendships with old ones. Ethan's speaking has continued to improve. I was able to watch Avery at gymnastics. I successfully made it through my first of many years of emotional sobriety. I was thrilled that Andrea got to go to the Emmy's with my sister and that Emily's store "Raw Denim" has opened and is successful. I was thrilled to meet Garth Brooks and go with Andrea, Emily, my mom and my Aunt Anita to see his Teammates for Kids Gala. Wish for Wendy eclipsed the million dollar mark. Playing catch with Ethan and Avery.

Thanks for reading. I hope that all of you have good health and great happenings in 2011. Make everyday special because it truly is.

Andy