Happy Monday folks! I hope everyone has had a great weekend. First off I would like to extend my well wishes to the Favors family, a crucial piece to the Shallow Side operation, and long time friends of ours. Ronda had to have open heart surgery last week, which is always extremely scary and dangerous, but she is recovering like a true champ and gets to go home today. She has a long and tiresome road ahead of her but that woman is tough as nails and I have no doubt in mind that she will be back to as strong as ever in no time!

     Grit is a term that we, southerners, use from time to time, and in this instance I am not referring to a small piece of stone or the breakfast side. It can be defined as a personality trait fueled by motivation to achieve a goal (in short). It is similar to hardiness and resilience, and although it is not a commonly used term across the country, it is still a huge piece to being able to overcome tough times and push forward. In Ronda's case, she has a lot of it and always has, that's why I know she will power through this tough recovery and come out on the other side ready to swing hard as ever!

     It is extremely important to have these characteristics to get through the tough times. Every situation is different, though, so there is no formula except to do the best you can and try to learn from the things you can do better at. A year ago today I was faced with a situation where I had to use said "grit" to push forward as well. My situation was not even in the ball park of what she is going through, so I'm not comparing it as her recovery is much worse than mine was, but I must admit that mine was not walk in the park.

     Doing physical therapy is something that always is a challenge, especially after a surgery. It is crucial in recovery though, because if you want to get function back in the affected area then you have to use it and find your limits and push those limits which is usually a painful and uncomfortable process. In my case, it was day to day, twice a day. If I could make at least a little progress every single day then I was on the right track to getting back to playing drums, where I belong. It was one of the most painful things I've endured in order to do that, but the old saying "no pain, no gain" was the epitome of what I had to do to get back healthy, and thankfully I made a full recovery from the shattered collar bone (I just have some internal bling now).

     Grit is something I believe everyone has, you just have to be able to dig deep enough within yourself to use it for better. It is something that is applicable to daily life, not just situations of injury and recovery, I just thought I would share a little about my situation as a year ago, I had to have it to get through. Laying down and giving up will never get you to the other side, no matter the situation, and we must always have our eyes on the road, not in the rear view mirror! Take care of yourselves, folks, and remember to keep the Favors family in mind. See y'all soon out on the road!