Plenty of Time

Have you ever noticed that when time is runnig out and the pressure is on it is easy to make a lot of mistakes just because of the stress?  It is tempting to just throw up your hands and quit, or run around like a chicken with its head cut off.  That happened this morning when Joe was getting ready for school.  He was a little crunched for time when he couldn't find a clean butter knife to spread the mustard, which he couldn't find either.  His anxiety was increasing because he only had about 3 minutes before the final bell would ring for school.   I told him to calm down and said, "Plenty of time."  This is one of our new family sayings.  It is a quote from the Navy football Coach Niumatalolo.  November 1, 2008 Navy was playing Temple and was down 27-7 in the fourth quarter.  Navy made a touch down, then another but missed the extra point when they went for the two point conversion.  Instead of going into a panic with one minute left in the game the coach said, "Plenty of time!"   Most people wouldn't consider one minute plenty of time, but in reality, one minute,  well played,  is plenty of time.  Navy concentrated on defense and recovered the ball, then went on to make a touch down with less than 30 seconds to go.  They made the extra point and won the game with an overtime TD.   I really loved the way the coach had the presence of mind not to panic but to keep pressing on and playing well to the very end.  That is why we have adopted this saying in our own family.  It is a reminder to stay calm and play the game, to keep trying even though it is the fourth quarter and we are down by 20 points.