The moment I will remember forever came last Tuesday evening -- Election Night -- around 8:45 p.m., long before the results came pouring in.
I was driving home alone, unresponsive to my cell phone that was blowing up in the seat next to me. While Kim and Chloe attended to other details, I planned a quiet walk through the neighborhood with my dog, thinking that if the votes did not come out in my favor, then Kobe would be there to cheer me up. He loves me no matter what.
I turned onto Bunnell Hill Road off of St. Rt. 48, just north of the Warren County Career Center. The sun had just set on a beautiful, warm day, and my family and I were set to leave for Florida in the morning. More than that, the realization that a nine-month, hard-fought campaign was now over.
The magnitude of the entire experience hit me right there, and I pulled off to the side of the road for a second. Whether I won the election or even if I didn't, I realized I was the luckiest man on the planet.
No matter what happens in my life, be it sickness or setback or being on the short end of election results, God has blessed me far beyond anything I have ever deserved.
I thought of the words of a Thomas Rhett song that are frequently on the radio:
"If all I've got, is your hand in my hand/
Baby, I could die a happy man."
All throughout the campaign, I had focused on one thing at a time -- do my work, do my best, be the person I am, and let the results take care of themselves. Now I had to put that truism to the test.
Whatever happened in the next hour or so, I would be fine.
...
KOBE DID NOT ASK about my day, nor inquire about any election results. When I got home, he bolted out the back door, in a hunt for a pesky cat that must have been taunting him from just outside the window.
Before long, I was ankle deep in a muddy area just behind our neighbor's house. Oddly, it was at that moment that just the right phone call came from just the right person. I answered my phone.
The results were in. We had won.
I couldn't move, in part because I was stunned. Lauren Clouse ran and strong, competitive campaign and had the backing of so many powerful and good people. It was overwhelming to hear that we had overcome such competition. Secondly, I couldn't move because I was literally stuck in the mud that surrounded me.
"We're going to Campioni's to celebrate," the caller said.
"Uh...sure. Just give me a few minutes to get there," I said. For a second, I felt like Peyton Manning at the two-minute warning. How am I going to round up this dog?
But then, just like that, as if on cue, there he was.
...
I'VE NEVER WALKED A daughter down the aisle (Chloe isn't old enough) or watched my parents celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary (Dad died just before their 49th), but the experience I had at Campioni's has to come close to such an experience.
Total warmth. Total love. The people who had gathered there were sold-out all through the campaign, and especially on Election Day. I love them all.
I will have to add all the names later, as I had done last night when this piece first appeared but was somehow deleted. Sorry, all of you. I'll have to add your names later this evening.
But the moment was absolutely incredible, and it re-inforced what I had been feeling only an hour earlier. I have been surrounded by so many wonderful people -- good friends, loving family members -- and I am blessed beyond measure. I have so many people to thank. For now, let this suffice as a public expression of appreciation.
As hugs were exchanged and loving words spoken, I sat back in the middle of it to once again remember the lyrics from Thomas Rhett:
And if I never get to build my mansion in Georgia/
Or drive a sports car up the coast of California/
Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand/
Baby, I could die a happy man