Valentine's Day

As a single woman, I have a love-hate relationship with Valentine's Day. 

On one hand, I appreciate that there is a holiday to celebrate relationships in our culture.  Too often, we fail to remind our loved ones that we do love and appreciate them.  I love how the holiday is sometimes taken over by gifts for children and other non-romantic people.

On the other hand, I don't like how that is often celebrated as a way to force people to buy gifts, keep up with the Jones', and a license for sex between unmarried people. 

I know there is a debate between those who believe it was a pagan holiday and a Christian celebration of a man who died for his mission.  The pagans seems to be winning the battle these days.

I'm also conflicted about when the holiday falls.  These days, I am usually spending my Valentine's day at seminary, but wishing I was in Daytona for the start of the racing season.    I know that

Sports Obsessed?

I enjoy sports. It's my mother's fault. In my family, my Mom is the big sports fan. She would watch college football and basketball anytime it was on TV when I was growing up . Back then we had 4 channels: ABC, CBS, NBC, & PBS. Four channels and one TV.

My Dad would go out into the family room and listen to music while my Mom watched her sports. In fairness, she had been the athlete in high school, going to the state tournament with her high school basketball team several times. My Dad, well, he had to work with his Dad on the farm and was allowed to play the trumpet in the band. No sports for him. My choice was to watch the game or go listen to the music. I often chose a book, which meant I could block out whichever was in the background.

Although my Mom likes sports, it is a limited menu. Very few races (Indy 500 was it), no hockey, and no golf.

Like my Mom, I played sports in high school. None very well. I even spent a few seasons cheerleading. As I grew older, I learned to love football, and now auto racing. I'm still not keen on hockey or golf!

Racing really is my favorite, and I have traveled across the country to go to races. Running in second place is football - either professional or college. I also enjoy women's basketball and attend ISU women's games.

One year, I counted the number of sporting events I had attended and had reach over 100 before the end of the summer.

I don't know that it qualifies me for the tag "sports obsessed," but I do spend an inordinate amount of time watching sports.