T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E
a solution, cleaned the chair, and had it back in the house before anyone knew it. The only give-away would have been Sister Friend’s uncontrollable tears, as she was so afraid my husband would be in trouble. Her protection of him carried on into high school and even college. Sister Friend always made sure he knew where he was going and that he had everything he needed. She is a quiet backbone for our family and loves my children as if they are her own. In Family Feud , her strengths would be southern traditions, reality television, and Texas A&M sports. My husband would be the fourth player on my team. My husband and I dated for three years before we married twelve years ago, and his realm of knowledge continues to amaze me. I’m convinced there aren’t many areas about which he doesn’t know something. He was a golf professional when we met and has now made a reputable name for himself in commercial development, but his ability to approach any situation with the simplest of solutions often wins. His dad taught him a phrase he uses often: “You’ve got to be 10% smarter than what you’re working with.” One thing I love about him is his honesty, whether it’s the easy thing to hear or not. As a newly dating couple, he encouraged his passive aggressive, “nothing-is-wrong-when-really-I’m-upset-and-I-want-you-to-guess” girlfriend to be a healthy “this hurt my feelings” communicator. My husband, like my dad, can be a voice of reason and isn’t afraid to say, “that is a bad idea, Liz.” Usually, he’s right. He loves his momma, and any girl should know the treasure it is to find someone who honors his mother and father. My husband also thrives on routine. His watch, billfold, Chapstick, and keys are placed in his catchall in the same order every day. He isn’t crippled by this habit, rather this preference for order has a simple, reasonable explanation: “You never have to wonder where they are.” His clothes are always ironed, he does not frazzle easily, and he is loyal to his people. In Family Feud , some of his strengths would be southern gospel hymns, any sport, and he would be my choice of a partner in the Fast Money questions. After all, I’m a self-proclaimed decent couch contestant, but I don’t bring as much to the table as the rest of my teammates. I could write a book on my entire crazy fun family though because it certainly extends beyond these four. In our crew, aunts and uncles are like second parents, cousins are like siblings, and I would not have it any other way. As we all have our different strengths and personality traits, we all have the same foundation of love, fun, and family-first. We aren’t afraid to laugh at our mistakes, and we always show up for one another. We are quick to say, “I love you,” and fast to fall on our knees in prayer when one of us is hurting. If we were to win Family Feud , we would donate any winnings to those in need because that’s what our southern grandmothers taught us to do. We were encouraged to do our part to bring good to the world to show God’s love to our neighbors. After all, we are already rich in love and family and I can’t think of anything more important than that. Because this is my imaginary team, I would be the fifth player by default.
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