Great Expectations

No, I am not going to go Dickens on you, but I wanted to discuss how much time we spend or maybe waste on "great expectations" of upcoming events in our lives, only to be sorely disappointed. And sometimes, when we least expect anything great, we are truly surprised and often blessed beyond what we could even imagine. Some of the events we have had great hope for are proms, dates, weddings, parties, and even sporting events! The latter is what made me question this whole concept. This weekend, we excitedly travelled to St. Louis for the Arch Rivary football game between Illinios and Mizzou. History, should have subdued us, but we, like the sport editors who promised us an Illini victory, went with hopes high that this year was our turn to win!!!
Now I know it was just a football game, but you must understand the preparations that we had untaken before this weekend. On Friday night before the game, the schools have a Battle of the Bands under the arch. The last two years we have not only gone, but have taken Serendipity our GSHP. This year she was decked out in her Illini collar and leash, her jersey, and a tiger chew toy in her mouth! Yes, cameras were flashing as she "killed the tiger" for the masses of fans who also had high hopes after reading the press.
Now to be honest, a good English teacher like myself, should have seen the foreshadowing of gloom when we woke to a pouring rain storm on Saturday, but we still had high hopes, and the rain slowed by the time the tail-gating was supposed to start. Once again Dipity was a hit. She was even asked to go up on the DJ's stage to "kill her Tiger" to the sound of more flashing cameras and yells of glee that we would beat Mizzou! The only problem was that Dip had prepared more for the game than our team!
Now winning would be nice, but I truly go to see Katy dance, only we got into the stadium too late to see the preshow performance! Another expectation crushed. And although our girls looked beautiful in their new uniforms, I felt so sorry for them as the agony of the game seemed to go on forever. Katy later said, that fake smiling for an entire game while the fans looked on in shock, frustration, and finally disgust, was exhausting, and gave her a headache!
No kidding!
I have no idea what went wrong. We were a 6 point favorite. Our team had players who had been together for years, while they had a new quarterback, and had lost many of their All-Americans who had beaten us before. The only difference in this lost, was that we were expected to win. Before, we were the underdogs who almost won, and were within reach the entire game. Now we just blew it. Thus, when your expectations are high and are not met, the fall is worse. The sad thing is that with that lost, so many other people's hopes and dreams were dashed. Now I know it was just a game, but sometimes I think all of life is just a game. One play, or one decision in one's life can change the entire outcome of a game or life can't it?
My entire life I have had more pleasure in the sudden surprises that the game or life has given me, rather than the carefully hoped and planned activities that end up as disappointments. I never liked New Year's Eve, because there is so much pressure on celebrating a night that the entire world is celebrating. How can the expectation ever live up to that? The excitement comes from the interception that prevents the goal. Like training Dip, people plan and dream about proms or weddings only to realize the day is over before they know it. But it is the marriage that takes the work to make love last. It is finding out you are pregnant and 40, that brings the unexpected, unplanned thrill of your life! It is finding out that you are going to be a grandmother at your birthday party, not the party itself that is truly "Great"! Life is full of interceptions. The game is constantly changing. It is how we adapt to the game of life that will determine if we win or lose. We can have great expectations for our lives, but we have to be able to handle those game changing plays and still be able to walk out of life with pride. And an important thing to remember is that life is not a practice, or as we drama teachers use to say," life is not a dress rehearsal." This should not be a problem if God is our coach!