Ah, another Tuesday, another chance to vent about the ridiculous things in our lives!

#heynow

Honestly, today, I’m sitting here, listening to a techno/funk/jazz podcast, not coughing (a miracle of its own), and feeling that tomfoolery is in the air. A quick sidebar, my wife and I are coaching jr. high girls basketball (7th and 8th grade) and as the girls were warming up, my wife walks in to put her shoes on. She’d had a less than satisfactory day (she was sick and has uber behaviors in her class), so came up to her and whispered, “There’s tomfoolery in the air,” which got a smile. Later on our way home, she said that during a drill, she tried to come up that word and couldn’t, so used the word “jackassory” to describe how girls were performing. I just about drove off the road. Yup, that’s us in a nutshell.

#youaretoocute

Shut up. Anyway, I’m the guy who tries to see the positive side of life because if I allow myself to go dark, it’s not pretty. This came into my email today from Brooke at the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. They have a “daily dose of kindness” email that is sent out each day, and today’s struck me. It said,

“Be present in the moments that bring you joy.”

#damn

I know! This really just got me thinking about how we find that time to be present. Yesterday, in the brief moment with her, that was a moment of joy, to see her smile. Driving home, as she told that story, it was a moment of joy that we were both present together. But then I start thinking about how hard it is to be present. Our lives are too busy to start with, there is zero doubt. We are over-scheduled, over-stimulated, and claim to have no time for the little things. The problem with that line of thinking, what do we do with our time? Last night, we ate and I spent time on my phone, my computer, and in front of the TV. How much time did I waste doing those three things instead of setting up my new podcasting equipment (don’t get excited, it was a Temu purchase, so we’ll see), or looking at our basketball lineup, or getting the laundry sorted, or whatever task that needed to get finished.

We spend so much time not present in our own lives that actually BEING present is a surprise and for some, hard work! For instance, I just wasted 5 minutes checking Facebook and now, this blog will be pushed back a while before I can get it written. And I know that my attention span is that of a fruit fly.

#eek

So, today, as my students are pounding on the door, wanting to come in, there are times when I need to be present.

  • For my students. I love greeting them by name. They perk up, they are more centered, and they don’t get so loud. Now, they aren’t going to like me because I picked up a ton of stuff in the room last night when I came back from practice, but being there for them, especially in the morning is a must. The same with our basketball girls. Talking to them and using their names gives them
  • During our basketball games. We play two games tonight, and it’s hard to coach and NOT be present. There are so many parts when coaching, watching the actual game, paying attention to the bench, the calls on the floor, who is getting tired, who is being a turd, and that’s both the exciting part of coaching and the mentally exhausting part all rolled into one. However, our girls deserve it.
  • Basketball practice. I’ve started the habit of just walking the gym when I get there, talking with girls as they are warming up. It’s helped me learn their names and helped them to trust me a little bit. Brand new teams with girls we’ve never met, it was a bit awkward to say the least. But we’ve both gotten some trust with the girls over the last month. Being present during practice means using names, paying attention, and being flexible with your practice plans.
  • The car ride home. It’s easy to zone out on our drive home, but being present with my wife gets out all the nonsense of the day. Whether it’s a basketball practice that was trash or experiences of the school day, being there and engaged is never a bad thing.

8 hours later

As I finish this up, I felt I was present in almost all things we did. Some days are harder than others, but yet, it got done!