I learned something tonight. I spent the tail in of my practice following a former NFL coach around the field as he demonstrated drills and techniques I’ve never seen before. He was helping out my first born’s team–coaching them up as much as he can while he still can. The man is about to undergo surgery and treatment for cancer and here he is spending Monday night giving back to the community in the way he knows how. I’m not only impressed but I’m humbled by the service. The dude is good and knows his stuff cold. That team is going to be a stronger unit based on what they learn out there on the field every night from him as long as he has the strength to teach. So, that is what this is really about then–teaching.
I suppose I’ve been really circumspect about my teaching career as of late. The culture of the office shifted and started to resemble a high school girls bathroom. I don’t like it one bit, but watching coach out on the field was a much needed reminder that it isn’t about that. It is about the impression you leave on the students and being about the job and the life and affecting lives in any small positive way that you can. It is a noble and important profession that is often seen as anything but that. I teach in the classroom and on the field. I’ve never quite been able to jibe that with my writing, treating the entire situation more like a job I do in order to have the money to write. That isn’t the appropriate mindset to have about the situation at all.
Perhaps that is why I’ve struggled with the writing and with striking balance between the words and the classroom and the coaching. It has to be more than laziness tethering me to this spot in my multiple careers and passion projects. It has to be more than having too much on my plate and too many different directions. I know folks who do ten times more than I do and do it better, so maybe the problem is within how I approach things and, more importantly, why.
Some Thoughts:
- Caught the tail end of Bernie’s speech on the way home. The DNC platform is serious this year and bound to piss off Wall Street big time.
- Football. I love that stuff.
- Got to watch all three of my franchise boys practice on their respective tackle teams. Big moment.