Survivor Is REALLY COOL But It Isn’t Everything

~ themunchkinnugget

I have barely had time to see my friends lately. Life has been insane and I am so grateful for the quiet after this incredible journey. After Macon Bibb County honored Rick with RICK DEVENS DAY (isn’t that crazy?), I took Jack to our friends’ house to play for the first time in a long time.  Amyre and I were talking and totally ignoring the boys (something we used to do regularly) and at 9pm they came into our room and told us it was time to go home and go to bed. They were right. Jack PASSED OUT on the 5 minute drive home and I feel like things are finally settling down.  I used to practically live at Amyre’s house.  Both of us have been very busy with work lately and then of course SURVIVOR.  Being able to hang out and relax and fall into our old groove has reminded me so much of the peace of our normal lives.

The past several months have been amazing.  Watching as our friends and family were excited and then disappointed and then excited and then REALLY EXCITED and then REALLY DISAPPOINTED was fascinating.  Hearing the views of total strangers on the internet was like its own social experiment.  While there has been so much love, the hate has been there since episode one.  I reflect back and am shocked at how quickly I got used to it.  The first week, I hated all of them.  The second week, I decided they were probably 12.  The third week, I analyzed their life stories and started to feel bad for them.  And by the fourth week, I seriously didn’t care anymore and focused on the love.

It is a little disheartening that human nature seems to tell us to focus more on negativity than positivity.  THEN, I noticed people I KNEW saying ugly things about people in the cast.  People I KNEW WERE GOOD PEOPLE and it suddenly hit me.  These contestants aren’t real to them.  They are characters.  Most of the commenters aren’t even bad people.  It was like a switch flipped in my head.  Total euphoria.

Last week was mind blowing.  Between Rick getting such an incredible gift from FREAKING SIA and watching him interact with REAL LIFE FANS I felt like I was living in a dream.  At the after party, I could not even get to my husband.  It was so crowded and every time I tried to get back to him another crowd of people blocked me.  They wanted to meet my husband.  These people were excited to meet MY husband.  SIA LOVES MY HUSBAND.

The moment I met Rick, I knew he was special.  I was completely enamored with him.  I had never connected with someone so instantly.  The conversation flowed so easily and by the end of the night, I knew I wanted to date this guy.  What’s funny is I thought it was because he was FOR ME.  I think the truth is that almost anyone who speaks to Rick feels comfortable and at ease.  He is so approachable and welcoming that it is hard not to feel like you’ve already met and even know each other well.  Luckily, I guess he liked me back.

Nine years after meeting him and here we are.  At the end of a pretty cool adventure with a little extra money in our pockets.  Rick likes to tell everyone that I sacrificed myself for him to go on this.  It is true.  It wasn’t easy, but I had a lot of help and he is the one who went away all alone for 7 weeks with a lot of people against him.  He is the one who didn’t get to see his family or have anyone to confide in.  He is the one who stayed *mostly* positive in an unimaginably tough situation physically, mentally, and emotionally.  THEN, he came home, immediately went back to work, and carried on as father of the century.

Before this Survivor situation existed, I already occasionally found myself day dreaming about how lucky we were.  We had two healthy children, two dogs, a cat, a house, a MINIVAN (only the moms will appreciate this), a supportive family, the best friends in the world, good jobs, a happy marriage, and a partttridddggeee in a pear treeeeeee.  Survivor has given me so much perspective on people, a different type of admiration for my husband, new friends I love dearly, and a good chunk of change-but I was already so proud of my husband, my family and my life and so so happy.  Survivor made our life a lot cooler, but it was already the coolest to me. Now, I just get to share that with A LOT more people.

Thank you everyone for watching and supporting my Rick Devens.  Just having the energy to write tonight feels so good and I will write more about Survivor as things come to me. I read every comment, like, and message and I cannot tell you how much it means to me and how stinking grateful and shocked I am for all the love.

15 thoughts on “Survivor Is REALLY COOL But It Isn’t Everything”

  1. Wow! I love this blog and your gift of expressing your feelings in writing. Enjoyed reading it. Excited for you and your fam! Plus enjoy seeing Debbie so friggin excited!

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    1. You know how I feel about you & your family…nothing but love & respect. It is wonderful to see you writing again, I always look forward to another blog.

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  4. I loved reading this! I have to tell you, I was Team Devens from Day 1 and I always follow along on Twitter with Survivor fans. I got so upset with the negativity on Twitter than I had to stop looking at it. I will never understand how people behind a keyboard can say such mean things about people they do not know at all. I run a nonprofit organization that has had its fair share of untrue negativity on social media and it really helps me to remind myself that people behind a keyboard are not connecting with people. They’re just spewing words about a “thing”–whatever that thing might be for them and in your husband’s case, it was Survivor. He was a joy to watch and my family spread out all over the country would text back and forth cheering him on week to week. Thank you for sharing him with us for this experience and thank you to him for the gift of entertainment. I see BIG things in store for Rick Devens!

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  5. Great post and perspective! I teared up reading the part about you meeting Rick and feeling immediately like he was for you…because that’s how I felt when I met my husband 9 years ago. And he’s got the same sort of temperament as Rick. Everyone he meets immediately likes him. Maybe that’s why I was so fond of Rick on this season of Survivor. From the moment he won his way back into the game I was a huge fan and I wanted him to win sooo badly. I’m so happy Sia gave him that wonderful gift. I hope it makes your lives a little easier and maybe more fun in the coming years. And I hope to see Rick back on the show in a few seasons! I think he’s got a million dollar prize in him yet! Thanks for sharing him.

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  6. Love this! As soon as I found out he was from Georgia I was on board (as is Ron so I was rooting for both). I just now wish those of us in Athens, Georgia got the Macon news channel! I’ll admit I did not like his game play for a while but I guess it’s different watching the show than actually playing it. And I cackled with glee every time he found an immunity idol. Especially finding the one after Ron gave him the expired one. I’m just glad he got as far as he did. Sorry for the long comment. I’ve been watching since season 1 when I was 11 years old!! Anyways, congrats to Rick for making it to the top 4 and for winning Sia’s award!!

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  7. Hi Becca, I am a survivor fan from Singapore and also a Team Devens 😉 😄

    Most of us “commoners” living an average life encounters daily challenges and struggles. But the short TV joy and “entertainment” your husband brought, allowed us to forget about our worries and just relax and laugh for a moment. Thank you and God bless your lovely family.

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  8. The hate for Rick was totally baffling to me I guess cuz I liked him since episode 1, but it’s true , they are characters to many people and that is why we disconnect the human side. I am so happy for y’all, thank you for sharing Rick with us and by extension, yourself .. you are both so infectiously joyful and I love your writing.

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  9. I was just thinking about your blog and how much I enjoyed it when Jack was born. I totally agree how easy Rick is to like. It still baffles me how he ended up the man to get in Survivor. I guess that is just the game. He played a great game and with amazing integrity. You could tell he was very passionate about the game. You are both very creative and a delight to watch. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.

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