Tonight, it became clear.
Family is the theme for the magazine Ben Craddock and I started together and which many of you have purchased this summer. We put "Reb & Blue Family" on the decal you've probably seen me pitch on Twitter or Facebook.
We thought the word Family captured the essence of what we think are the best things about Ole Miss - the lifelong friends we made during our fondly remembered college days in Oxford, those six or seven family reunions we have in the Grove every fall, the teammates Ben had when he played football for Ole Miss, the good times we share or shared with our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives and children in cozy Vaught-Hemingway Stadium or as we gather together around dinner tables and living rooms talking about the next game or yelling with one heartbeat at our televisions as we cheer the Rebels through.
All of those great things are captured by one word - Family. It's the sense of Family that gives you that warm feeling on crisp autumn Saturday mornings when you see fellow Rebels on the highway headed toward Oxford. We are one in our love for that special place we call Ole Miss. The red and blue unites us.
That's the Reb & Blue Family.
One thing we didn't contemplate was the other part of family. It's probably the most critical part. Family is there when you need them. When nobody else is there for you - Family is. Having been though a hard time or two, I know this first-hand. You probably do, too.
Chance Tetrick taught us even more about Family.
Chance passed away on Monday night after a hard-fought battle with Leukemia. He was only 11, and he loved the Ole Miss Rebels. We lost him too soon.
Like many of you I followed the Chance's Landing Facebook page and grew more and more emotionally wrapped up in his fight. As a father of four Chance's battle touched me deeply, as did the faith of his parents. Chance was a brave kid. His parents maybe even more so. It's hard to watch a child hurt. What the Tetricks have been though since February 2013 has been unimaginably difficult.
Chance's earthly father, Jeff, said Chance loved Jesus, and we can know that Chance is in Heaven. His pain is over. For that, we are all grateful. But Chance's family has enormous challenges still ahead in the form of grieving, medical bills, travel, funeral and other costs to face. Their difficult times will continue.
Difficult times are what Family is all about.
Family is there when you need it.
That's why Ben and I decided we will donate the proceeds from all sales of Reb & Blue Magazine and the Reb & Blue Family decal from both RebBlue.com and from the Oxford Exxon until 9 p.m. Tuesday night to the Tetricks.
Let's show the Tetricks what Family is all about. Please help us help the Tetricks.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT REBBLUE.COM. ALL PROCEEDS DONATED TO THE TETRICKS UNTIL 9 P.M. TUESDAY.
