Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. It sure seemed like one before we left. Drive from Louisville to Hattiesburg through the night, go straight from the conference to the football game, let the kids sleep in the car, don't waste our vacation doing pesky things like sleeping, skip stopping to nurse because it's night- it all sounded great. Even better, neither Emily or I can sleep sitting up in a car, so we didn't have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel. What could go wrong?
And almost nothing went wrong, except that Sarah inherited our inability to sleep in a car. The poor girl slept about an hour, all in 10 minute sprints after 2 a.m. She wanted to sleep, but couldn't. She even asked, through tears, for her bed. Then she went back to letting out those same cries a child lets out when they're falling asleep- except they never seemed to end. I don't know how she didn't wake up Josiah. But we made it.
We pulled into the Howells' driveway at around 4:00 a.m. Central time, trying our best to remember what it was that convinced us to drive down at such an hour. Once we got up the next morning, it became clear: box seats at the Southern Miss v. Boise St. football game. Emily's parents had acquired four seats in a luxury box, making for a great morning and afternoon of food, playing children, festivities, and football. After a serious nap, of course.
All the pre-game festivities were right at home to Emily, but not to me. There were great bands playing everywhere, and the marching band walking all around the campus. The tailgating felt more like a cross between a birthday party and a circus. And that was just outside the stadium. Once we got to our suite, there was an endless supply of food, drinks, and fun. Southern Miss, along with other schools, are building a strong football program based on the fan experience. They seem to understand that a good game and a good time go hand-in-hand.
Sarah enjoined the game quite a lot, though Josiah was sometimes scared when the noise suddenly erupted. He wound up spending much of the game inside- another perk of the box seat. The rest of us went in and out quite a lot, always having a good time.
The Golden Eagles came out strong, taking an interception on the opening drive and driving right up to the goal line. But when the field goal didn't go in, it was a sign of things to come. The Boise St. Broncos came out on top, by quite a lot. Turns out they can play pretty well on a green field also.
After the game, we came home and took another nap. The evening was low-key, although Emily did attend marching band festival with some old friends.
As we retired for the night, Emily's mother proposed to me that perhaps I ought to sing in Heritage's Sunday choir the following morning. Either way, we looked forward to Sunday Worship at Emily's home church.
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