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What a great weekend.

First home football game of the season. Friends in town. Little tiny breath of cool weather. Who could ask for more?

The fun started Friday night at Hope and Don's Tailgate shower. Good food, old friends, Mississippi State tailgating. Solid, solid night. After the shower we headed downtown to Old Venice. It was a good thing we got there early and staked out some tables, because the place was packed before I knew it. Even though this will be my sixth football season in Starkville, I still seem to forget how ridiculously crowded everything gets on home game weekends. I saw lots of faces I hadn't seen in a while, though, and had a really fun time.

Saturday started out cool and overcast, which was a nice break from the broiling heat we're still used to in Mississippi in September. I had a great time tailgating with Katie's dad and the Meridian crew, of course the Junction was as fabulous as ever, and we won the game! A stellar day all around. After a little post-game tailgating in the Junction, Katie, Meg, Brandon and I headed downtown, where we made our way to Barrister's. Of course, even though we didn't really know very many other people there, the four of us managed to somehow have a great time, as always.

There really is nothing else in the world like Mississippi State University during football season. There's nowhere else I'd rather be.

As I look back over the past week, I feel so overwhelmingly blessed to have the people around me in my life. I always try to pretend that I can do everything on my own and that I don't need any help from anybody, but sometimes it's so nice to know that someone's there to help me if I trip. Whether they're hundreds of miles away or one street over, whether I talk to them everyday or we haven't talked in months, whether I've known them since elementary school or they've only recently come into my life, they each mean something special to me, and I don't know what I would do without them. I firmly believe that God gives us exactly what we need in the exact minute that we need it, and that has once again been proven to me. A smile, a laugh, a listening ear, a familiar face, a piece of heartfelt advice, an unexpected hello, a hug... today these are the things for which I am most thankful.