Number 18 Gifted

WOOO HOOOO! I cannot even begin to explain to you the level of excitement that filled my body on Wednesday when I received a phone call from my friend, Sam. She said that she'd been out on my blog the day before and read my beginning list of 50 things I want to do. She said that it must be fate because she could help me out with #18 if I didn't have plans tonight. She had tickets to the KU/Northern Arizona game and she and her husband didn't think they could find a babysitter on such short notice. She asked if I'd like to go with her. Of course, I quickly accepted her offer and made arrangements for things to be taken care of at home. It just kept getting better, when I called back, she said the seats were in the fifth row!!!

Anyway, Sam, who is also the mother of three small children, and I made our trip to Lawrence together on the eve of Thanksgiving leaving our kids in the care of our husbands. Walking into the field house to take our seats, which were actually at half court on the fourth row, was so thrilling. Never having experienced even one other seat in this arena made watching the Hawks' 87-46 victory much more dramatic than the point spread indicated.

The season tickets for these seats belong to an associate of Sam's husband's co-worker. He had sat in the seats before with his coworker on several occassions, but Sam had never been on the receiving end of this generosity either. He must have had a momentary lack of judgement that he was lamenting because we received several telephone calls from him on our way there reminding us of the value of these seats. He had tasted the sweetness of witnessing Kansas basketball in such fashion. We had no idea what indulgence was ahead.

It was amazing to walk in and see the retired numbers of those players I've watched throughout my lifetime on television and the national championship banners of teams of storied past. The game seemed magnified to now fully understand just how tall these young players are, just how low to the ground are the folding chairs they occupy on the bench, just how intense Coach Self is while coaching, just how much fun the players have when playing the game well enough to win by a forty point margin and how fun that is to witness, and just how erie the sound thousands of fans create chanting "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" to mark the victory. My perception that I have a better view from my couch has been forever changed. The ariel shots taken from above the court minimize the experience and don't begin to encapsulate the aura of the arena.

I am most thankful for this generous act. How appropriate for me to be filled with thanks given the very holiday to be celebrated the next day was surely the cause of the availability of these tickets! This opportunity to watch the incredible amount of talent by these young althetes filled me with the kind of energy and anticipation that a child on Christmas Eve attempts to harness in order to fall asleep while awaiting Santa's arrival through the night.

If I never attend another KU game in my life (which is highly unlikely now that I've experienced the infectious allure of the intimacy of this legendary institution), I have the memory of sitting in, quite literally, some of the best seats in the house. I could never have dreamed I would have had this kind of opportunity presented to me, let alone given to me. And the fact that I actually was able to take advantage of the moment seems like just that...a dream.

This is another beautiful blessing of living intentionally. Thanks again Sam, for reading my blog and helping me to cross #18 off the list in a way unimaginable!