As the Super Bowl approaches I'm reminded how much I love the ceremony, celebration and emotion that is this culmination of another season of football.
I don't understand the game (never have) but the people I love do and that is one of the reasons I get excited at the time of the Super Bowl.
The people I love love football.
I am the daughter of a once Jets fan, now Giants fan. I am the sister of three Jets fans (angry with their father because he forgot to give them the "I've moved on", memo) and I'm the former significant other of a Packers fan.
The people above were brought into my life to prepare me for my favorite football fans, my two sons: a Jets fan and a Packers fan.
My sons play the game, they root for their own college and pro teams, participate in drafts, follow trades and schedule the better part of six months of their lives around football. It's fun to watch them count on this time of year to deliver the feedback they crave about the sport they adore.
The fact that I can't follow the game and have no desire to understand it gets the people I love upset. After the games they play in or watch they get frustrated with me when I don't know the score or can't comment on the exact down or quarter when something of significance happened in the game.
I tell them, "I know when something good happens or when something bad happens. I know when you're happy and I know when you're sad."
That is the score I keep, those are the plays I notice. That is what I follow when I watch the game.
The football season brings the people I love closer and puts them in spaces with others who share their passion. They're in good company as they anticipate a celebration and they're supported in the event of defeat.
We can love football for different reasons. I love football because the people I love can count on football to deliver a celebration this time of year that makes room for the beginning of something new and celebrates the accomplishments of the past year. No matter what, the people I love know they can count on the Super Bowl to happen.
As the Super Bowl celebrates its 50-year run, I celebrate mine.
During my 50 year run I have learned how precious the time with the people we love is. I've learned how special it is to be able to count on something to happen every year that makes the people we love happy (most of the time).
The Super Bowl reminds us that no matter what there is always another season, there is always another chance to celebrate and to show up for the ceremony.
Jeanne M. Stafford is a professional speaker, communications trainer and is writing a book on Asperger's, Improv and Communicating with Power. She trains her audiences and clients to communicate powerfully using improv techniques. Sign up for her FREE 30 Days of YES and find out how using YES words can empower you to possibility. Follow Jeanne on twitter @jeannestafford and visit her website http://jeannemstafford.com