Three years and forever.

Three years. Really? How is that possible?

No way it's been three years because I can still see him in his sweater vest, sitting at the computer in the sound booth, signaling "chorus" or "verse 3" to John.

It can't have been three years because I can still hear his voice so clearly. That accent. That energy. His "Y'all still likin' your house?" His "Hey, girl" phone greeting (which was even funnier when Brett took the call).

At football games I still half-expect to hear from him—some comment about the Horns, or more likely, about the officiating. And sometimes, when I'm especially frustrated with Big 12 refs, I imagine how he would defend his brothers in stripes. How is it possible that three football seasons have passed since we've exchanged those Saturday afternoon texts?

But it has been three years. Three years since we got the email about the accident. Three years since the phone call. Three years since we drove through the snow, the ugliest snow we'd ever seen, to the hospital. Three years since Facebook lit up with prayers for and then tributes to him.

It has been three long years since we said goodbye to our friend, our buddy, and in that sense, it feels like it's been forever. Forever since we've seen him, since we've laughed with him, since we've thanked him.

We will keep trying to count all the ways he used his 44 years on earth to bless people. We will thank God for the impact he made on our lives and others'. We will continue praying for comfort for his family and dear friends. And we will love Tim Head.

Forever.

Twelve things for 12/12/12.

(inspired by saltycrunchybitterfresh)

1. 'Tis the season for sick kids. Katie was sick at home overnight and went to school late, and Ryan got sick at school and came home early. Good grief.


2. It's scary how much I'm enjoying this season of Survivor. It's our Wednesday night ritual (after church,  of course), and I can't wait to see each week's episode. What a treat it was to meet Lisa Whelchel, one of this season's castaways. It's a blast to get to watch the show with the world's greatest Survivor fan, too.


3. It's also scary to think how angry The Amazing Race finale made me. There were all kinds of tough "road blocks" that challenged the contestants mentally and physically throughout the race, but it all comes down to a final test that relied mostly on luck? What a let-down.


4. And I really wanted Trey and Lexi to win. In fact, I wanted them to win before the first episode even aired. (It might've had a little something to do with the Longhorn gear they were wearing in their team photo.)


5. As much as I love Survivor and TAR and a few of the HGTV-type shows, I'm really not that into reality TV. I just don't get Duck Dynasty. Our school district was abuzz because Si was visiting campuses today (his daughter teaches at one of our junior highs), but I'm out of the loop on that one. 


6. How cliche to talk about the weather. But wow, it's winter now, huh?


7. After a hiatus of a few years, our pop culture Christmas tree is back! Ryan's the one who really encouraged me to get 'er done this year. It's so much fun to have all our comics/sci-fi/TV/Disney ornaments in one place! It's nice to have that multi-colored tree in the gameroom, too. Pix to come. It'll probably be next JULY(!!!), but they'll be posted--eventually. (In the meantime, here are our trees from way back in 2009, our first Christmas in this house.)


8. You know you've been teaching Macbeth for a while when you start quoting it at every turn. Here comes my fit again: Full of scorpions is my mind, dear reader! 


9. Our Christmas cards are done! They're waiting for pick-up at our local Walgreens. Of course, I'm far, far, FAAAAR from having the address labels ready, but hey, at least the cards are printed. 


10. Even though the Walgreens photo-card route is so much easier, I still miss spending hours in InDesign coming up with an original card. It's so much fun to stretch those creative muscles and design something unique. Oh, well. Maybe next year.


11. My attempts to hide from Christmas have not been altogether successful. I can't help but love the lights, the decorations, the food. Katie has even convinced me to turn the car radio to the Christmas station a few times. Remarkably, my breakdowns have not been as prevalent as they were in those first days after Thanksgiving, but even thinking about Christmas Eve makes my heart race a little.


12. Or maybe that's just the Diet Mountain Dew I just drank.