Little Moments

Life is made up of moments that sum up our lives. Sometimes those moments are huge and everyone within a thousand miles notices it. Then there are moments that you and you alone know happened. You never expect any of these moments to happen but once they have it is nearly impossible to look at life without them.

One of these moments happened for me just a few days ago. As most of you know I have 5 wonderful kids I claim as my own. The oldest of the 5 graduated high school early this year. She is an incredible young woman and I can only hope to express how proud I am of her.

Since the latter part of January she has been asking myself and my wife everyday when we come in if we have checked the mail and if there was anything for her. To a point she was almost accusing us of hiding the mail from her. We never did that by the way, but we could tell she was anxious and nervous about something.

This past Friday the weather was rather dreary and cold. The school district had canceled school for the day and we didn't have to get any of the kids up early that day. I have to say it was nice to be able to get up, make coffee, and get back in bed where it's warm. My wife and I were able to work from home on our computers that day. Any other day we get up, get ready, get our putes loaded up and head to our office to work there. Our day was going great, we took care of our social media management duties rather quickly. We spent quality time with our 6th child (our dog) Sabra. Drank plenty of coffee. It was one of those days you just can never get enough of.

Our oldest was doing her typical lazy morning routine and finally came out of her bedroom around lunch. What do you think she asked first? "Did I get any mail today?" It just so happened that I had gone to the store earlier and saw the mailman down the street. Most days she doesn't get to ask this question until late afternoon. Before she could really see straight I was able to tell her that the mail ran and we just need to check it. I don't know if she was still not awake or in shock but needless to say she was a little happy. I got out of bed, put the leash on the doggy and told her I would check the mail while I was taking Sabra out. It might have been me, but it seemed like Sabra was really enjoying being outside that morning.

Envelope in hand addressed to Raven, I walked back inside. I could feel the stare of hopeful and anxious eyes on me. I pretended like nothing new had arrived but she asked as always. Before she could finish asking I motioned like I was gonna throw it at her but I didn't. It was the letter she had been waiting for. She rushed to get it open and read it. Before she could say a word a smile just came over her face. There was no doubt this is what she had been wanting for.  With her mom and myself standing there with her at the kitchen table she just read the first sentence to us. She had been accepted and welcomed to be part of the freshman class at Louisiana Sate University starting in the fall of 2011. How cool is that?!!

Just to let you know, that was about noon on Friday. At that point life just stopped. We just soaked up the moment. Being a part of that moment was just simply amazing. She has worked hard to achieve this and for us to be part of that is something words can not do justice.

Is this a big moment? ABSOLUTELY! It is only one of many more to come for her on this journey. I am just thankful to have been included in it.

Did You Expect to be Where You are?

Looking at where you are now, and thinking about where you thought you would be, can you honestly say you are exactly where you envisioned yourself being? I can say without a doubt in my mind, I would have never expected to be where I am now and doing what I am doing and I wouldn't change a thing.

Life is a journey that can take us on the best roller coaster ride of our lives.The ups and downs can take us from one extreme to the another in a heartbeat. Keeping that in my mind, it is up to each person to allow that journey to happen and embrace the adventure laid in front of us. 

Growing up I always figured I would go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. I figured to be working at a job that would provide for my family and that would be just fine. So what happened?

I went to college as planned but didn't finish. I got married but that didn't work out. I have kids. Five to be exact. I thought I had found a job that I would work at and be there a long time. I was let go last year. So where does that leave me now? Happy!

My first marriage gave me two incredible kids. The oldest is a teenager now. Makes you realize you are getting old but in the same thought makes you smile and appreciate it. Jobs have come and gone but that has given me the knowledge that no matter what, I can and do take care of my family. The pressure now is completely on me and I love that. No more paychecks, no more worrying about what the boss thinks of me, just the liberating feeling of total responsibility being on me.

It would have been very easy to just throw my hands up and ask why did this happen to me when I lost my job last year. Looking back at that life changing event, It was the best thing that could have happened. I love being the boss of me and having the freedom to enjoy life now. The ability to spend time with my family is my decision now. No more arranging times around a work schedule made by someone else. Family and friends are more important than we know and we don't often realize that until it's too late. My days are dedicated to my family now. I have support from my loving wife Phaedra, my wonderful kids, Raven, Steven, Kyle, Tristian, and Jonathan. That support is the best feeling in the world.

I ask myself again that question and I answer No. I did not expect to be where I am today. I love that I am happy about being in an unexpected place. Can you say the same?

Accountability is not dead

     I have been a sports fan for as long as I can remember. It is always easy to get excited about your favorite player or team winning the big game, super bowl XLIV  for example : ) We need to look deeper into what these big moments represent because there is most always more there to see.
     The New Orleans Saints winning the super bowl has been talked about and discussed til there is nothing new to say. This post isn't about the Saints. Its not about Drew Brees and all that he has done for the city of New Orleans and the gulf coast region. It is about an extremely gifted young man that has accomplished many things others can only dream of. That young man is Reggie Bush.
     Reggie played his college football at the University of Southern California. I can tell you right off I do NOT like the Trojans, but this is not about that. Reggie played there from 2003 - 2005. He won the Heisman trophy during that time.The Heisman trophy is awarded to the top collegiate football player each year. It has come to light that he received improper benefits while he was attending USC. It has been reported the he received improper benefits while he was a student/player.That is against the rules of the NCAA. USC has been put on probation for 4 years, a postseason bowl ban for 2 years, and they will lose 30 scholarships   over the next 3 years. The national championship that USC won during the 2004 season was also forfeited. These actions are all the result of a young man thinking about one thing and one thing only Himself. Now understanding that he has been the cause of these penalties being brought upon his college alma-mater, he did something today that I can respect and admire. He gave back the Heisman trophy he was awarded after the 2005 season. I can only imagine giving back an award you won that I'm sure he dreamed of winning since he was a kid playing pee wee football. He showed that he is not the selfish superstar football player that most people view him as.  This act showed accountability and maturity not common to anyone this day and age. He didn't do the easy thing. He did the right thing. It is never easy to make the right decisions, but it is the right decisions and choices that make us better people.Today I became a fan of Reggie Bush the person not the football player.  I can only hope that all the kids that want to be like Reggie and play football like Reggie can  become the person that Reggie did today. In a world of loud, obnoxious, overpaid, spoiled celebrities, Reggie showed that there are positive role models for our kids to look up to. Til next time , Jeremy

Football season is here...........FINALLY!

   This is my favorite time of the year. I enjoy most all sports, but football is at another level. I do have to say I  enjoy college football a little more than the NFL. In my humble opinion, and I do say, in MY opinion, there is a passion involved throughout college football that you can't duplicate at the professional level. The college football fan has more loyalty and love for their school. You can ask any college football fan and they will tell you exactly how good or bad their team is going to be. As they are telling you their thoughts on their team, all you have to do is watch their body language and their passion shows through. I don't care where you are in the world, if there is a college football fanatic near you, you know exactly who they are, what team they love, and  if they won or lost this week. If their team won or lost you can always tell before they say a word. Body language is a dead giveaway. I have no shame in admitting these things describe me to a T.
      I attended the University of Southern Mississippi and I have been and always will be a Golden Eagle. Now I'm sure some of you keep up with college football and know that this past Thursday night the Eagles played at the University of South Carolina and they were defeated quite handily. It pains me to say I watched every second of the game. I wanted to turn off the tv after the first half but I couldn't. Does that make me a glutton for punishment? I don't think so because if it had been USM doing the pounding I wouldn't have turned it off either.
      Growing up in south Mississippi you would think that I would have grown up being a Mississippi State Bulldog or Ole Miss Rebel fan, but to tell you the truth, I don't like either one. Particularly I HATE Ole Miss. I look back at growing up and it seems to me that my hatred for Ole Miss probably comes from how much a large part of my family loved them .Looking back it really is kind of funny. Not one member of my family ever attended Ole Miss and I can't think of one occasion that any of them even ever attended an Ole Miss football game. Maybe it's the fact that Ole Miss stopped playing USM in 1984 because they lost 6 of 8 games played, but I digress lol.
   I will be the first to admit that the conference that USM plays in is definitely not one of the better conferences (Conference USA). The SEC is head and shoulders above any conference in the country. Now with that being said, I do have a favorite team in the SEC. Living most of my life in south Mississippi, and having lived in south Louisiana for over 5 years now, I am a TIGER fan through and through. If you cut me I would bleed purple and gold. Growing up I was always an LSU fan, but I kept up more so with the basketball program.Who can forget Ricky Blanton leading a team of no names to the final four in 86'. My senior year of high school I had a term paper to do for my English class and I chose to write about Pete Maravich. If you don't know about him, just google him. He was the greatest college basketball player in history.......that again is my opinion.
     Ok, now let's get back to football. LSU played their first game of the season Saturday night against the University of North Carolina. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. My wife and I were both extremely anxious for the game.  Yes, she bleeds purple and gold too. I will not go into detail about the game itself. I will just say I'm happy for the win, but am not happy how we played. LOL, I have to point this out because it is just an indication of how much of a fan I am. When I talked about the LSU win, I used the word "we". This shows how we as fans feel about our teams. Our teams become part of us. So now I have a question for all of you reading this. As a football fan you have a passion for your team, do you have that passion for your real life team? If you can honestly say yes than you are my kind of fan. My home team is my favorite team. Til next time......GEAUX TIGERS!

Rolling with the punches

      I want to start this off  by introducing myself. My name is Jeremy Stockstill. I am 34 years old. I have 3 step kids and 2 kids from a previous marriage. I have never blogged before but I felt like now was as good a time as any to start.This blog will go from one end of the spectrum to the other depending what thoughts I have at the time.
     I was just recently "let go" from the company I have been with for the past 2 1/2 years. This came as a complete shock and total surprise to me and my family. Needless to say, we have been hit pretty hard by this, but as the title of the blog says..... we are rolling with the punches. My wife, the amazing woman she is, has been working harder than ever to advance her ecommerce online education, social media instructing, internet marketing, internet sales, multiple businesses forward. She has several businesses online, and she is handing one of those over to me. Just to let you know, I have never sold anything online. I have never tweeted, facebooked, or any of the other social media terms you can think of and she has the faith and patience to teach me. I think she is rolling with the punches better than I am lol.
     I know that we have taken a thunderous right hook and have hit the mat hard, but we are getting up ready to push on. I can say without any hesitation that being "let go" is going to be for the best. It is hard to see now through the big black eye that we received, but that will heal and we will come back stronger. I use the term "we" because it is not just me, it is always our family. We make it through together. Without their love and support I don't know what I would do.Til next time I leave you with this....... Success is defined as getting up one more time than you have been knocked down.