Family, Perspective and The New Year

Family, Perspective and The New Year

Happy New Year!!!  

Today is the first day of the new year and a time when the Oliver family gets together to celebrate football of course. We gather together at my parents house and celebrate the New Year by watching football all day long. It really isn't much of a family event as the guys sit around and eat themselves to sleep and the girls either play cards or finally give up and go home alone. Not much of a celebration. This year was not much different but something happend that made me proud of my little family.  At the end of the night after everyone had left my folks house my kids without much asking went and cleaned up so that my mom and dad did not have to do it by themselves. It's may not seem like a lot but take into consideration that we get enough food and beverages to feed a small army. Without a single complaint my three kids went to work to make the basement livable again. It was great to watch them as they cleaned up the mess that others left. Then helped each other gather things so that we could go home and spend time with their mother who like most of the women left the celebration hours prior to the final TV timeout. It's funny how little things like watching your kids get along and work together can make a parent so proud. It's not like they don't like each other or spend a large amount of time fighting (I mean they do fight like cats and dogs sometimes) but it just makes me feel a sense of family when they chose to get along and look out for each other. 

The kids working together was one of the bright moments of the day. Now lets take a look at one of the dark periods of our New Years celebration. Michigan lost to South Carolina by a last second  touchdown pass. After the shook of the loss and getting past my brother Marc wishing death upon all of the fans and alumni of the Gamecocks it was time to take to twitter to see what the rest of the Michigan faithful were saying about the lose. It always amazes me to hear sports talk radio or follow twitter and listen to people complain about the play of the team or the coaching descisions. As I was reading some of the tweets I came across a couple of comments made by some of the players and it made me stop and think about these young men. You see that is exactly what they are... Young men. Hardly old enough to vote, have a beer or even have a full time job. These are young men who as one of them put it, "playing for the greatest university in the country". They are the ones that really have to endure the lose. They are the ones that are taking on the pressure of an entire fan base to succeed. Yet in the end they count on each other to stay positive and remain grounded.  Wish some of the adults that call in to the radio station would do the same. It gives a whole new perspective on how well the coaches do at grooming these young people. I am humbled by the comments some of these players make about the fine universities they represent and the teammates they compete with. It gives me hope that hard work and loyalty is still something that our American society cherishes. If you work hard enough and you surround yourself with good people then a loss is not what defines you. What defines you is how you respond to adversity and the actions you take in response to that adversity. Today I was upset and disappointed to see Michigan lose but proud of the responses of many of the players as they took to the social media outlets to thank their fans and most importantly to thank their teammates for standing by them. 

Even though the New Year was not celebrated with a win by the Wolvines it was a success. I am excited about the possibilities of starting anew. My plan for this year are to become more healthy by staying in shape and eating better. Along with that I want to organize me life a little better and that starts first and foremost with getting myself closer to God. I always feel better and more grounded as a husband, father, teacher and coach when I am focused first on my relationship with Jesus.  I pray The Lord gives me strength and perseverance to stay committed in my spiritual walk with Him.  I am excited about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. 

So here is to 2013, may it be a year full of spiritual and physical growth (and if the good lord sees fit maybe a couple more wins for the Wolverines). 

Love in Christ,

Scott