I was looking forward to many things last week -- in addition to the normal busy schedule that I and so many of you keep, I was looking forward to the return of our SNC students and then the packing up for team travel to Arizona for the Super Bowl. Well in addition to the Packer - Giants loss, I would end up spending the week engaging in loss on a different level as I would take part in the funerals of four different people close to our church community. Attention to the funeral details, the needs of the families, and creating funeral homilies would give the week a focus that I did not anticipate. The nice thing about it is that it took my mind off the loss at Lambeau. But now that life has slowed down just a bit, my thoughts are returning to life at the Frozen Tundra.
My Packer buddy, Schief, has a great mind for trivia -- among other things. Mark Schiefelbein is the Packer Director of Administrative Affairs. We get together quite frequently and we constantly entertain each other with useless TV trivia from the 70's including "Brady Bunch," "Gilligan's Island," "What's Happening," "I Dream of Jeannie," "Bewitched" ... ... ... you name it! Other people aren't quite as amused by this as we are! Finally this weekend we took a break from our trivia banter to discuss the past week -- and the week ahead: the week that could have been! Finally the sadness of the loss set in. But the feelings associated with last Sunday night cannot overshadow all the good that was achieved this past Packer Season.
Schief will be able to look back upon the year and remember all the details from each of the games. For me, they all run together. I tend not to remember the highlights nor the low lights from the season; however, what I do remember in particular is the weather in Chicago and last weekend in Green Bay -- with the wind burn to prove it. Aside from those starling memories, as I look at the year in review, I will remember the many people who made this year such a wonderful experience. While I am tempted to write about each individual and their contribution to the cause, I will not do so for fear that I will overlook someone significant -- all I can say is that the Packer organization is made up of some of the finest people I know. There is a friendly spirit there that certainly contributes to the Packer successes we've all enjoyed this past year. What happened on the field this year was indicative of what takes place there day after day behind the scenes. And before you know it, they'll be back at it soon, even better than ever!
But before next season starts, we have the Super Bowl on Sunday. In all actuality, I'm not sure what I'll be doing during the game -- perhaps rooting for the NFC, perhaps watching the Super Bowl just for the sake of the commercials -- only time will tell. While I do wish the game would have been a reprisal of the Patriots and Packers, I do realize how nice it is to sleep at night without the nervous anxiety that preceded the last several games.
My Packer buddy, Schief, has a great mind for trivia -- among other things. Mark Schiefelbein is the Packer Director of Administrative Affairs. We get together quite frequently and we constantly entertain each other with useless TV trivia from the 70's including "Brady Bunch," "Gilligan's Island," "What's Happening," "I Dream of Jeannie," "Bewitched" ... ... ... you name it! Other people aren't quite as amused by this as we are! Finally this weekend we took a break from our trivia banter to discuss the past week -- and the week ahead: the week that could have been! Finally the sadness of the loss set in. But the feelings associated with last Sunday night cannot overshadow all the good that was achieved this past Packer Season.
Schief will be able to look back upon the year and remember all the details from each of the games. For me, they all run together. I tend not to remember the highlights nor the low lights from the season; however, what I do remember in particular is the weather in Chicago and last weekend in Green Bay -- with the wind burn to prove it. Aside from those starling memories, as I look at the year in review, I will remember the many people who made this year such a wonderful experience. While I am tempted to write about each individual and their contribution to the cause, I will not do so for fear that I will overlook someone significant -- all I can say is that the Packer organization is made up of some of the finest people I know. There is a friendly spirit there that certainly contributes to the Packer successes we've all enjoyed this past year. What happened on the field this year was indicative of what takes place there day after day behind the scenes. And before you know it, they'll be back at it soon, even better than ever!
But before next season starts, we have the Super Bowl on Sunday. In all actuality, I'm not sure what I'll be doing during the game -- perhaps rooting for the NFC, perhaps watching the Super Bowl just for the sake of the commercials -- only time will tell. While I do wish the game would have been a reprisal of the Patriots and Packers, I do realize how nice it is to sleep at night without the nervous anxiety that preceded the last several games.
So for a great NFL Packer season, for those buried from our church last weekend and for those travelling to and from Phoenix, we have many people to keep in our thoughts and prayers -- "Give it a shepherd's care!"
Father James Baraniak, O. Praem.
1 comments:
If you need any help getting through this difficult time, you can always give me a call (since I went through this process a week earlier....)
Pete
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