Family Ties

I've realized as I have traveled through each stage of my life, that the one constant thing is family. Love, faith, respect, reliability, and friendship. My family is my only constant and I wish I could constantly tell them those things.

My mother nor father ever played soccer growing up, they didn't train intensively for cross-country races, and they probably never wanted to be a ballerina as much as I did. But they sat through ice-cold soccer games even when, as an underclassmen, I was more of a benchwarmer than a vital part of the team. Mom and Daddy would be at every turn at the cross-country course encouraging me, then there at the finish line to tell me to "Good job, but you could have done better." I know that is true now. Mom and Daddy (yes, Butch Jones) sat through dance recitals when I had even worse dancing skills than I do now. It was out of love. A constant love that I still feel today and know is there despite the fact that I am not an athlete anymore.

But, they continue to share the love and support me. They'd be decked out in Orange and Blue if I had gone to Auburn; and they'd be at every event I participated in if I had have gone to a small school in no-man's land to run or play soccer. They'd never let me go to Duke, not only because the genetic blueprint they created for me (haha!) but because they'd save me from the misery of being a Dookie - and THAT'S love!

Not only my parents, but the most important person in the world to me. The most constant love. The most special bond any girl can have is a sister and a best friend combined into one person. This is the person who was always my #1 fan on the soccer field, the race course, and even the basketball court (even though she hated playing the sport and didn't share the heart-breaking news to our father until 12 years later). She's now my #1 in life; even though we live completely different ones.

I learned a lot of lessons throughout childhood and adolescence merely by playing the sports that I loved. Maybe back then, my parents were just two more people in lawn chairs on the sidelines. Maybe I was petrified and scared of my Dad's "talks" on the way home from a sub-par performance. Maybe my sister was just a teammate who played a different position; or just another girl in the senior class the year I made the Varsity soccer team. But now, when I look back on things I would've changed and things I wouldn't have changed for the world, I realize that my parents and my sister are my best friends, my rock, and my constant in love, faith, friendship, respect, and reliability.

I feel like I owe them a lot; but I know that they do not expect it. Sometimes I feel like I've failed them; but I know they're always going to be proud. And although I'm not the little girl, as Daddy would name me "#6" (even when my jersey adorned the numbers 33 or 15), that wore french-braided pigtails or a ponytail that ALWAYS had a ribbon around it, I still know I'm they're little girl and I'm my sister's "Sissy". For that, I consider myself lucky. That's what I believe childhood is for... beyond all my Child Development Studies... it's for looking back when you're 22 years-old whether you were an athlete, a ballerina, or one of those cute looking girls that got to have their own horse and showed horses (still a little bitter and jealous about that), you're childhood shapes who you are and shows you who is your constant.

In a world where the only promise is change, I feel lucky to have those constants. Even though we've all changed - I wear scarves in my hair rather than lucky ribbons, my sister is someone's wife, my Daddy's, to me, the ultimate survivor, and my Mother is my role model and hero.

I just want to thank them for being my constants. I don't have a whole lot of them, but they're all I need.





As always,
Go Heels and Roll Tide!