I can’t believe it is 2015.
We survived another round of the holidays and, for me, that meant a week sharing my mom’s sleeper sofa with my 70-pound dog.
The five or six weeks between Thanksgiving and the first of the year always throw me off balance. Football season is over and basketball is cranking up full speed, but the holidays always seem full of speed bumps that prohibit me from going at things full throttle.
That’s OK because I’m used to the inconvenience that goes with the most wonderful time of the year, but I’m ready to get back into the swing of my regular routine.
It seems that each year comes full circle; the circle starts with basketball in January and ends with basketball at a holiday tournament in December.
The next few weeks will be filled with post-season tournaments and the beginning of new seasons. It all starts today when Baker School hosts a girls district qualifier.
Next week are the girls district soccer tournaments. Boys district soccer tournaments are scheduled for two weeks from now.
Girls district basketball tournaments will be Jan. 26-31 The boys play their district tournaments the following week.
Softball and tennis seasons start the week of the boys district basketball tournaments. The second week in February, high school baseball season officially arrives in Florida.
I haven’t even mentioned the district wrestling tournament or the start of flag football and track and field.
My plate will be full between now and the end of the school year, but I’ve always preferred a full plate to having to go looking for something to cover.
It might only be January, but my thoughts are racing ahead to May and the start of spring football, when I mark 40 years since my last spring practice as a player.
Sometimes, it’s easy to get so caught up in looking ahead that we forget to savor the moment in front of us. We are in such a rush to get to the future that we don’t see how quickly time flies.
I hope to be able to take a few minutes in the middle of my busy world and treasure the events and athletes I cover.
I want to paint memories, just for myself, that go beyond stories I tell and games I cover.
Because times does have a way of getting away from all of us.
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Cranking things up in 2015