Once upon a time, writing up a Lovett-HIES football game was a challenge in maintaining positivity. The Lions, it seemed, would always cover the spread and all our running backs, leaving you at least hoping the coach had an interested quote, a funny quip, something.
 
He did not.
 
Which brings us to Friday. At school. There was talk at water coolers, at salad bars, in front the panini line. At study hall where studying is even harder on football Friday.
 
"Can we beat them?" "Have we ever?" "Do you think this is our year?" 
 
Moving forward, to halftime to be exact, you weren't sure whether Mother Nature was lending a hand or perhaps making this yet another "wait till next year" situation. Living three miles away, not a drop hit your condo. By the river, however, a sprinkle became a rain became a storm became a monsoon. 
 
And all those Homecoming youth and those crowns and sashes and pageants and our kids dressed and half dressed in gold and paint with funny hats and carrying flags. After seeing the videos and Instagrams, you're not sure if our kids knew it was raining. Instead, they knew their classmates and hallmates and loved ones were about to win – over Lovett.
 
Even your typewriter didn't know how to proceed but instead, it gave you this urge to get out of bed at 10:30 at night and go dance on the field and make your clothes so wet even your mother couldn't save them. 
 
Correct if wrong, but you've learned that basically what a parent wants is for their kid to be happy. Yes? No? So, you're looking at these videos at this beautiful mess and monsoon where sane people would be under roof tops and under blankets, making popcorn and watching Friday Night Frights.
 
The thought won't leave you – "we want our kids to be happy". And then these videos – "Wow, these kids look REALLY happy!"
 
In football lore, the last time you remember kids storming the field was after a regular season 1-point win over ELCA that broke their nine-year region win streak. Peter Wandkte kicked the "most famous extra point in history" and all (bleep) broke loose. 
 
Sometimes, things happen that let you know it's worth it. It really does. The pain and nicks and scrapes, the heat, the cold, the injuries, the chemistry you hope to have, the late nights, the full agendas that do more than nudge you in your sleep. Those days you wonder why you're doing this and who are you and do you need this?
 
And then once upon a time, these videos and Instagrams and posts come crashing into your phone and you see this mess, this monsoon, this mayhem. And all those beautiful, goofy, spontaneous, random events waiting to happen dressed and half-dressed and carrying flags and screaming until their tonsils fell out.
 
It just lets you know sometimes you must work for happy. Because high school, as has been written, isn't like the movie "Grease" where you meet a hot blonde on the first day of school then dance on top of cars the whole time. 
 
You work for happy. You take care of each other and your teammates for happy. You sweat and sometimes bleed for happy. You can't go on, but you do for happy. You lose hope but you get it back for happy. Because resilience plays a hand in happy, it really does. 
 
And if you keep on working, keep on persevering, one day you'll storm a field with your teammates. Or maybe come flying out of the stands as if there was a spring load up your butt.
 
Or you'll check your phone at 4:38 in the morning on a cross country Saturday and you're glad you're standing there all alone, because you just gained 25 pounds in goosebumps.
 
Then you'll get dressed, go do what you do, look up at the Heavens and at God and all up there. 
 
And you will smile. Really hard. 
 
That is until you perhaps shed a tear.
 
-Dunn