2024 *I can do H A R D things*

 Whew....it has been a hot minute since I have even thought about doing a post. Have you ever been dealing with such a high level of burnout that you couldn't even do the things you enjoy? The bare minimum was the best you could ever seem to come up with?

Well, over the last year, I hit that. I had been there before and pulled myself out. About 9 months ago I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pull myself out of it and knew there needed to be a change. 

In October, I walked away from a job and people I truly believed I would never leave. Hard is an understatement. I walked away from comfort and people I knew truly cared about me, but I knew I had to do it. I stepped into a new company with no connections or security. It was scary but WOW, it has been so rewarding. Stepping into this role reminded me that I can do hard things. This team is incredible. I am surrounded by leaders who truly put their people first and my team has the best attitude. I have been constantly reminded that this was the right move for me.

I decided to go into 2024 and do *hard* things. This week, I flew to Nashville all by myself (I don't travel alone) and when the weather ruined my return flight, I booked on a new airline. I have only ever flown Southwest. While none of these things may seem hard to you, they are definitely a big deal for me. 

Sometimes you just gotta step out of your comfort zone and be reminded that you are capable of so much more than you think!

And so it begins…

Here we are, another football season is kicking off. This is my 14th season next to my favorite bearded coach. Today kicks off with a team meeting and practice starts tomorrow. 

This is the part of the season that comes with so much excitement and a little bit of anxiety. You see, every summer the kiddos and I get very comfortable and accustomed to seeing coach much more frequently that when football starts, it kinda slaps us all in the face. In the best way possible though. We know that time with coach will be sacred over the next few months and we will often opt out of other things if it interferes with what little time we do get. 

Often times you will hear coach’s wives refer to themselves as a “football widow” or “single mom.” I’ve been one to do it and it’s all in good fun and joking. The truth is though, that is absolutely not the truth. While we see coach much less during season (well all school year now that he is the AD), we still know that he is coming home every night. The coaching lifestyle isn’t always easy and sometimes it does feel as if I’m doing it all alone. Thankfully though, our coach is a total rockstar and will still pull his weight at home when he can. When he is not available, I will fill in the gaps because that is what marriage is all about. This summer, he cooked 99% of dinners and did the bedtime thing way more than I did. I know this will be changing since he will be less available but I know he will pack the lunches in the mornings and help me get them to school. He will go out of his way to set things up to make my time with him away easier. 

We love Friday nights, o-line dinners and cheering on our BEARS. I am hopeful that we will host at least 2-3 dinners this season. It is what makes me feel like I’m a part of what coach is doing. It gives me a chance to get to see the impact he is having on his boys and it helps our kids also feel involved. This might be the year that Hudson ditches me for practices and team dinners. He is officially old enough to get to spend all that time at the field with Coach and learn all of the football things. Honestly, he’s probably been old enough for a while but I have had a hard time accepting that. 

For the first time in a few years, the kids are playing no fall sports (for now anyway). Em will have her weekly horse riding lessons but no other practices or games to attend. I think we are excited that we can focus on school, family and football this season. 

As always, I’m going to pretend like I will keep this updated more but we shall see. I also think it’s offically time for me to update the blog name since we have been done with paci’s for a hot minute now 🤷🏼‍♀️

Until next time…