Welp, here we are, Day 1!

#woot

I don’t want it to seem like I’m not excited, because I am. Old “friends” pop up out of the woodwork, I get to see some outstanding writing, and I get to play writer for a month as well. March 1st also brings the fact that the worst of winter is over. This is the first year that I can really say that seasonal depression really got me. It’s been more light out and I’ve been more upbeat the last few days. Daylight savings time is coming which will screw with my system, but it will help as well. All this plays into the fact that we are writing for a MONTH! Let’s freaking go!!

#areyouok

Hush. I looked back on SIX YEARS of writing for the Challenge and I see a pattern with the first post: The introduction. I tend to go simple, so here it is. Please feel free to steal it because, in all likelihood, I’ve stolen this from a writer much more talented than I! 🙂

I am:

  • 50 years old at the start of this challenge. How in the hell did this happen?
  • a husband, a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a friend. I’m not always sure I’m good at being any of these, but I keep trying, which is the biggest thing.
  • a coach. I graduated college thinking I’d be a football coach and here I am, 20+ years into being a middle school girls basketball coach. This past season, I coached my 100th win which was pretty awesome. It’s a passion of mine, but with the change of attitude in both players AND parents, I’m not sure it’s in the cards for me for too many more years.
  • a writer. This blog has been around for 10 years. Again, how in the hell did this happen? It’s become a place for me to celebrate, vent, complain, and just allow my “written” words to express how I feel. I can’t always do that verbally as the introvert in me just won’t allow it. I feel a freedom here that I don’t always feel elsewhere to be able to put things down. I keep waiting for the “as a teacher, you can’t write this” email/call/text to come, but it really never has shown up. We’ll see after this month! 🙂
  • a bit lost in the world. I’m just not sure of my place right now. Covid has made my being a introvert that much worse. Meeting new people is hard and it’s even more so now. We’ve lost our teacher hangout on Fridays as so that connect is gone. Heck, so many connections with school and the community are just not there anymore. I have 6 – 8 years left in education (yes, I’m old) and I wonder, can I do this? I hate change and that’s all we’ve done for the last three years in our district with Covid and retirements. I just don’t know where I fit anymore.
  • Love music. Right now, I’m listening to this mix off of YouTube. I’ll write more about this later, but many times, music is what keeps me going.
  • an Iowa Hawkeye fan. This is a golden age of Iowa sports with wrestling doing so well, men’s and women’s basketball (the women sharing a Big 10 Championship) completeing at a high level, the football team is trending upward, the indoor track team has repeated as Big Ten Champs, and the baseball team seems loaded this year. Last night’s men’s game had some “holy sh*” moments and some tearful ones and the women’s team destroyed their third Top 10 oppenent in two weeks.
  • into technology. I’m teaching a tech class (by the seat of my pants) so I’m setting up a “nerd room” at home to be able to practice what I’m teaching. I love Twitter and have found a happy place in the Hawkeye Nation online. I live around two hours from Iowa City, so getting to games is usually not something we get the chance to do. I live vicariously through those people in the midst of Kinnick Stadium or Hawkeye Carver Arena. I can be found @aniowateacher or @anIowacoach, both are active.
  • losing weight. Since January 3rd, I’ve lost 8 pounds, and my goal for March is another four pounds, getting me below 205. If I can get below 200 pounds and hold it, I’m going to get a tattoo. Don’t tell me of what, because that goal is still a ways off. Right now, it’s about continuing to eat right, moving my body, enjoying that feeling that only happens after a workout is done.
  • Finally, I’ll be here A LOT this month. I enjoy reading the slice of old friends and new writers. There are so many people who make my writing look like that a three year old. I love to show gratitude and appreciation to those out there who model what good writing looks like. It makes me want to do better.

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you! 🙂 I hope to “see” many of you over the course of this month. I’m excited to reconnect or forge new connections.

Good luck to all this month as we being another Challenge, together.

#LFG