Weekend Recap--an ode to the end of an era

What a crazy, important, COLD weekend! So many awesome things happened, but I've got pictures to document it all. :)

Friday:
We met some friends at George's for dinner. It was good to chat over yummy food, catch up and laugh. Cara was WIGGLY and didn't want to eat any of the nutritious carrots or oranges I brought for her. But who would, when there are delicious rolls and chicken and French fries available? As long as we kept her plied with bites of food, read her books and talked to her, she was good. Made it a little past bedtime. Then we bundled back up (again, COLD!) and went home.

Saturday:
The big day! Cara woke up early, despite a late bedtime. Sweet Chance got up with her and they played while I caught a few more winks. We spent a couple of hours getting ready for the game (running to HEB, getting gas, etc.) and packed up our car. We got a babysitter for Cara, and her friend Reed came over too! Any amount of money was worth not having to take her out in the cold and keep her happy for the whole game.

We bundled up in all our layers and left for the tailgate at 11 a.m. I wore leggings, hard shell pants with a fleece liner, tall wool socks, Ugg boots, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a thin North Face fleece, a hoodie and a puffy down jacket. Plus 2 scarves, gloves AND mittens, an ear warmer, a hat and hand/feet warmers in my gloves and boots. I also brought 2 blankets. The temp stayed at about 26 degrees for the whole day, so all the layers were necessary.

We tailgated for about 2 hours, with a firepit and lots of hot chocolate and blankets. Before going into the stadium for the last time, Chance and I took a picture, where we have taken so many before. This was definitely a day of "lasts" that were sentimental and sweet.

The game was a lot more packed than I thought it would be. Despite the weather, there were a ton of fans, and I'm proud of that. The Baylor Line ran for the last time and acted crazy, and people stood huddled together for warmth. It was a slow-starting game, but in the second half, we really took over.

As the game went on, I got more reserved and quiet instead of loud and excited. When the clock had 4:09 left in the game and I knew we would win, my tears started flowing. I thought about my very first Floyd Casey game in August 2002, when I was in my own Line jersey. It started to POUR down rain in the first half, and us crazy college kids decided to stick it out and get drenched. Such a parallel between my first and last games--braving the elements to make a memory.

I thought about the lean years of the Kevin Steele and Guy Morriss eras, how we would go weeks without a win, or even a moral victory. How we won 1 conference game in 2004, I believe, and rushed the field and tore down the goalposts. When 3-9 or 4-8 seasons were good ones. I know Baylor fans older than me lived through even worse years, but as a fan in the early 2000s, we saw a lot of sadness, heartache and disappointment. But Coach Briles has reinvigorated and changed our football program.

We are in years where we expect to win every game we play. Years where we see a Heisman winner or Heisman finalists on our field each week. Years where a bowl game is the ultimate goal, not just a handful of wins. Years where we hold NCAA records for offense, defense, individual players, etc. Years where opponents are intimidated by us. Years where we WIN OUR CONFERENCE and go to a BCS bowl. Years where we are in (loose) talk for playing in a national championship game. Light years away from "scrubbly little Baylor".

All of these thoughts flooded over me as the game drew to a close, and I was overcome with emotion. I am so proud of our school, of this team, of Coach Briles, of our fans. I am so proud to be a Baylor Bear and all that people associate with that. Having those lean years make this celebration even sweeter. And to have national and local media and unbiased pundits note that this season is not a fluke only makes it sweeter. We compete, we win. We are Baylor.

So after we won and were too frozen to run onto the field, we walked down and hopped over the fence to celebrate and take pictures. Then we headed back up to our seats for a better view of the closing ceremonies. If there is one thing I know from working at Baylor, it's that they are prepared for any kind of event. Crisis? Got a plan. Celebration? Got a plan. And this celebration was awesome. A representative from each era of Floyd Casey turned off one of the lightpoles amid fireworks and cheers. And the greatest cheers were for Coach Briles, who had a tear-stained face. I can't imagine the pride and accomplishment and sentiments he feels now. Such vindication, such hope. We all sang That Good Ole Baylor Line in the semi-dark and closed a full chapter of our Baylor lives. What a memory--I wouldn't have missed it for the world, or for any temperature.

Cara and Reed had so much fun with their babysitters at our house, and were really glad to see us too! We had to put her to bed pretty quickly after we got home, and then we started unpacking, cleaning, washing everything, etc. I crashed pretty early while Chance re-watched the game on the DVR. :)

Sunday:
The roads were supposed to be slick in the morning, so we decided to stay at home in the morning. We played with Cara, ate homemade blueberry pancakes, did mountains of laundry and watched movies. (sidebar: Chance knows my love language--found Dirty Dancing on the movie channels during Cara's nap and paused it until I could sit down to watch it start to finish. What a guy!)

After her nap, we ventured out to Target and HEB. I needed to shop for the foster child my 3rd period adopted this year and got to pick out baby things for a sweet 3-month-old baby. We also bought a potty for Cara to look at and get used to. We're nowhere near ready to potty train, but she does say "diaper!" and find one of us when she needs a fresh one sometimes, so I guess it's time to introduce the concept to her. We'll take things sloooooowly. Then we got groceries at HEB and went home for her second nap.

I cooked dinner, cleaned up, we finished laundry, got ready for the week, watched a little more TV, gave Cara a bath and dinner, played and put her down. It was a busy second half of the evening! Even Cara was tired again--she wanted to have a nap in the middle of her laundry pile!

This week, I'm looking forward to baking cookies for a cookie exchange, having our SS class Christmas party and celebrating Cayce's birthday. And going to Salado with some girlfriends for a Christmas stroll and shopping. It's the most wonderful time of the year that always seems to be so busy!

Thanks for indulging my gush of Baylor love. I know a lot of you feel the same way, or you feel that way about your own alma mater. It's nice to have something to be so proud of finally!