My Life According to Football

Football season is back and I’m ready!

I’m a huge Cincinnati Bengals fan and since they had such a successful season last year, I’m looking forward to a repeat performance.

Our first game of the regular season was against the Pittsburgh Steelers. For those who don’t know, my favorite guy is a Pittsburgh super-fan! Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are rivals and I was so looking forward to this game watching my Bengals win! Unfortunately, they didn’t but, we’ll try again when we meet them in November.

As I think about football and its twists and turns during a game, I can associate some of its terms with my life. Check this out:

On days when I’m stirring up stories to blog, or if I am presenting, or acting as emcee for an audience, I truly feel I’m at my best and in the “pocket”. Although, during this time I’m surrounded by people, it’s up to me to remain still and make things happen.

On other days I feel “offsides”.  Continuing to stand and take steps on my walker is the plan, but as we all know, sometimes our plans get deterred. I have good intentions, but the one-eyed lazy monster visits me a lot. When trying to do either of the two, I’m very wobbly and offsides. Since I know this, I’m going to keep working on it. Stay tuned.

Often, I find myself having to “scramble”. In life, you will find things are not going to work out as planned. When having a disability this act comes in to play often because I must depend on others for assistance, who unfortunately, sometimes don’t show up. I’m pretty good at having a plan A, B, and even C, but when they don’t work-out it’s time to scramble to get your wants and needs met.

Sometimes, when I want to try something new in my life, but not sure how it’s going to turn out, I’ll throw a “Hail Mary”. Although, I was taught to play it safe, when my wild side appears, I throw caution to the wind. I have thrown some good Hail Mary’s and bad ones as well. One thing about them is they’re fun!

Often, I’ll “blitz” a situation to get things done. Sometimes, if you overthink things, you’ll let fear overtake you. My Hail Mary and blitz theory sort of go together, but I’m ok with it because I probably wouldn’t be as happy as I am or successful if I didn’t take chances. Life is short, do not sit around and let it pass you by.

Finally, the last football term I associate the most to my life is, “touchdown”. Having a disability can be challenging, but my good days outweigh my bad ones. I’m an overall very happy person who has been blessed by the best. I’ve made so many touchdowns that I can’t even put a number on them. As long as I live, I will continue to make big plays and score!

Football is a game for the ages and I’m ready for it, just like I am with life. Let’s go Bengals, Who Dey!