Four months ago, I sat down to lunch with my wife Callie in a small Tuscaloosa restaurant.
At seven months pregnant, and a near two-year old in tow, we ordered our drinks as I drummed up the courage to ask her opinion on something that would be life changing for our family.
Earlier that morning, I had seen where the Indianola Enterprise-Tocsin was looking for a new publisher.
I wanted very badly to throw my name into the hat for the job, but I knew I had to have her blessing before I did so. At this point, I did not know if she would be ecstatic or if I would wind up dining alone.
“There’s an opening for a publisher job in Indianola,” I mumbled.
“Is that something you think you would like to do,” she responded, to my surprise.
One thing led to another, and by late July, we knew that we would be moving back to the Delta and starting a new life here in Sunflower County, and we have not regretted the decision one bit.
Not only are we under an hour’s drive from our family in Yazoo City, but we realize now just how much we missed the small town life living four years away in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.
It wasn’t long after I arrived that I was back on the football sidelines, taking pictures and getting to know the players, coaches and parents surrounding the area teams.
It had literally been five years since I was on the sidelines of a football game.
Covering high school sports for that same period of time out of college, I was more than ready for that return.
I had covered multiple state championships before in both football and basketball, and I knew coming in that Indianola Academy was coming off a state title win in 2016.
They were poised to repeat in 2017. This made the return even more exciting.
On Saturday, just after the sun went down, the Colonels lost in overtime to Starkville Academy, so the state title repeat was not to be.
However, I want the players, the coaches and the school family to know how thankful I am that I was able to follow this team this fall.
This was such a remarkable group that put on a stellar performance every time the players hit the field, Saturday included.
This community should be very proud of this team.
So as we prepare to sit down with our families this Thanksgiving, Callie and I have much to be thankful for.
We are thankful for our two daughters, one of whom arrived in September after we moved back, and the other just turned two.
We are thankful to be close to family, and we are thankful for the new friends we have made and will continue to make over the coming years.
I for one am thankful that Indianola is a community that values and supports its local newspaper, and I hope that I can live up to the standard that has been set by my predecessors.
When you live in a small Mississippi town, and you have the privilege of getting to know the great people of the community each day, there’s plenty to be thankful for.
