Homecoming and Return to Atlanta

Hello Friends and Family,

Homecoming at Mars Hill University has always been special to me. I attended my first ever homecoming back in 1998 when I was still deciding where I wanted to go to college. I have only missed 2 in the last 25 years.

Thursday night Mills and I walked from our AirBnB to Chambers Gymnasium for the annual Lions Growl pep rally. Lions Growl is different than it was when I was in school, but the students seemed to enjoy it all the same.

When I was in school Lions Growl was held on the football field. We had a DJ/Emcee playing music and keeping the program moving along. Each campus group: Fraternities, Sororities, and Clubs prepared a 2 minute skit for a competition. The night concluded with a fireworks display. It was incredibly fun to participate in all of that as a student.

The Town of Mars Hill hosts a block party on the first Friday of every month, appropriately called “First Friday”. The highlight of each First Friday is a street performance by the 31 time National Champion Bailey Mountain Cloggers. It was raining, so everyone just moved the performance into The Loft on Campus.

Some of you might not know that I was on the 2002 National Championship team. What a great experience it was to be a very small part of that amazing team.

I do a fair bit of coaching on the side for anyone who is feeling stuck in life or who might feel like they have drifted away from who they want to be. I especially enjoy coaching college students and Mars Hill students get access to my coaching free of charge.

One of the first exercises I have my clients do is to commit to a life long practice of cleaning up carts in parking lots. I have been doing this for years as Courtney can attest. This practice helps me build the muscle of “doing it anyway”.

Putting away carts seems like a very insignificant way to change your life, but it is revolutionary. Every big thing I have ever done has required me to continue to take action no matter how I’m feeling or what is going on in my life. Putting away carts is inconvenient and it is uncomfortable (rain, cold, heat).

If you can commit to this practice, which no one will ever thank you for doing and you will never receive an award for doing, what else can you commit to?

I got up early on Saturday morning to start reheating the pulled pork I made earlier in the week. In case you are wondering this is the single best way I have found to reheat BBQ and retain all of that juicy goodness.

We had such a great day tailgating with so many old friends that we hardly took any pictures at all. I’d say that is a great way to spend the day! To top it off, Mars Hill won the game!

After 5 weeks on the road we headed back to Atlanta on Sunday morning. We drove over 5,000 miles, made some incredible memories, saw TONS of friends and family, and enjoyed our first road trip as a family of four.

I could very easily live life on the road. Give me a suitcase and my computer bag and I’d never need a “home base”. This was the longest trip we have ever taken and I definitely jammed our schedule as full as I could possibly make it.

I’ll admit, I pushed our little family to the limit. Courtney is not like me. While she loves to travel, she also needs downtime, and place to call home. After 14 years of marriage I am still learning this balance.

When we arrived home on 10/8/2023 Mills had spent 50% of his entire life in hotels and AirBnBs. If he had his own Marriott account he would already be a Silver member and knocking on the door of Gold.

We have a solid 6 weeks here in Atlanta before we head out on another trip!

Until our next Adventure,

Austin, Courtney, Mills, and Willow

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