Resting on Rocky Top

Plus the Vols win

It’s hard to argue against getting away in East Tennessee. I love this place and I can’t say that I get out here enough.

Rest is always difficult for me to obtain and “disconnecting” has remained a consistent challenge throughout my entire professional career - this difficulty has only increased in recent years.

I’ve previously written about my belief in work-life integration vs. the current emphasis on work-life balance. Integrating my life with my work while in East Tennessee is both refreshing and reinvigorating.

All that to say, it’s nice being away with my family for a few days and getting a nice change of scenery while doing it.

It’s <finally> football time in Tennessee

The mighty Vols kicked off yesterday in rousing fashion. A bit of slow offensive start in the first half but Milton & the boys seemed to really start humming in halfway through the second quarter.

I couldn’t get the local broadcast so I deferred to my recently discovered favorite of listening to Tennessee games - local radio (via the WMNL app). I grew up listening to Detroit Pistons games with my dad on the radio. We would usually be driving home from one of my basketball games late at night while we listened. George Blaha’s voice still echoes in my mind and it’s a major bit of nostalgia that I latch onto.

Try listening to your favorite team’s local radio broadcast. It’s exhilarating and usually less annoying that hearing Jordan Rogers’s take on each play.

Passing on the Vols tradition to my boys

My oldest boys and I are attending the Tennessee home opener next week. I’m beyond pumped and very much looking forward to watching the Vols run through the T with my oldest sons.

No disrespect to Austin Peay but I expect the Vols will blow them out in the first half. This allowed us to get front row tickets a very low price so we will be super close to the action.

As long as we get to hear Rocky Top be played 45 times we should have a good day out. My kids are young so I expect to be there for about 2.5 quarters - I’ll still consider that a good result. My goal is to see Nico take his first snaps at Neyland. I want my boys to one day tell their kids that, “My daddy took me to watch that Nico kid play his first snaps on Rocky Top.”

Passing down traditions is fun for me. I’m looking forward to passing down my love for Tennessee and Rocky Top to my children.

Getting back to my rest

I’ll close for now. I’ll have work to do throughout my stay and hopefully some additional writing as well.

Find rest yourselves this week.

The year is almost over which means a mad dash to the finish line + the aggressive holiday schedule that usually consumes everyone’s schedule.

Here’s to your success this week and this month. I’ve got a couple nice things in my own pipeline so wish me luck in my pursuits.