Ugh.

So, besides all the other stuff we're dealing with these days, James got sick and went into the hospital on Saturday. It was the typical story. He had a cold/allergies which quickly developed into a cough and turned into serious asthma problems. Irene took him to the hospital Saturday afternoon and he was admitted and put in a room shortly after. He seemed to be doing well through the evening but didn't do well through the night and has never been let out of a hospital room before being able to go through the night without oxygen. So, he spent a second night, Sunday night. In the meantime, Rosemary was having similar symptoms with a runny nose which turned into a cough. Yesterday, Irene called to say they were about to be released. Rosemary hadn't slept well (which meant I didn't sleep well) and so we went to pick them up and were both a little cranky. As we were in the car waiting for James to officially be released, Rosie got really cranky, her cough got worse and then she fell asleep. We were still waiting when she woke up and started crying about how she didn't feel well and Irene and I decided to switch off. She came down to sit with Irene and I went up to wait with James. I was already starting to have fears about Rosie but had already set up a doctor's appointment. After getting to James's room, Irene called and asked if she should just take Rosie to the ER. I thought that would be best and that's what happened. So, we officially had two kids in the hospital at the same time on separate ends. It looked like Rosie was going to have to stay the night when, out of nowhere, she made an astounding recovery, from the way Irene explained it to me. Her mood improved, she started to eat and everything just got better. I went back and picked them up around 6:00 yesterday evening and we all went home. What a day! Thank God for astounding recoveries!

Job Accepted!

Texas was very, very good to me! I had 4 interviews last week while back home in the Lone Star State. All 4 schools wanted me to come work for them. What a blessing! In Huntsville, I interviewed for a head girls basketball position that would be a great job in a strong program but still a pretty tough teaching load (6 classes of a about 25/class). In the end, they really wanted me to come work there but gave the coaching position to someone else within the school and counter-offered with an assistant soccer coaching position. I am declining this position on the mere fact that I wouldn't be able to coach basketball and because I'm a little insulted to interview for a position like that and not even be offered an assistant basketball position. In Hempstead, I spent the least amount of time interviewing. That interview was only about 45 minutes long and was completely conducted in their library. They initially offered only assistant football and baseball positions but came back with an official offer that included assistant girls basketball. They were very cold and fairly inhospitable compared to the other schools I interviewed with. I declined their offer, as well. In Caldwell, I spent the better part of 2 hours interviewing and chatting with the athletic director in an office as well as while we toured the facilities. We got along really well and, as of today, I am the only coach he interviewed for their head girls basketball coach opening. The problem is, they don't have a definite Spanish teaching position open and were not able to get the Spanish teacher they have that might leave to make a decision. So, I am not able to wait around to see what will happen with that job even though it's the one I wanted the most. The fourth interview I had was in Franklin. Franklin is a 2-AA school just east of Bryan. They have a brand new campus for their 300 students. They have almost no discipline problems and the average class size is 15 students. I would also be teaching the upper levels of Spanish so my Spanish 3 and 4 classes would probably be even smaller than 15. Right now, I have a total of 215 students. There, I would probably be lucky to have 60. Also, being a brand new campus, it's also state-of-the-art technology in the classroom. On top of all that, I would be the JV girls basketball coach and also coach a second sport. I've accepted this job and am extremely excited to be there next year. Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers!

The Job Hunt

So, I have 4 job interviews in the College Station area next week. I'm not nervous about the interviews themselves but a little anxious about the outcomes. I'm not a very patient person, in general and so it would really help out my peace of mind if I could come back from Texas with at least one job offer. I realized today that I'm interviewing at a 1A, 2A, 3A and a 4A school. That's not important but kind of interesting because I attended and have always worked at a 5A-size school. I think it will be interesting to see what it's like to teach and coach at a smaller school. Things will be even better if I can get an offer for a head coaching position. It might be a little rough going back to just being an assistant. Now, I have to play the waiting game for getting to the interviews.

Separation

So, it's strange the curve-balls that life seems to throw at people. Just when you feel pretty settled in to the way life is, the waters get stirred. At least, that's how it tends to happen for me. That's how it was a couple of years ago. I had finally gotten settled in to being a teacher and a basketball coach and just the everyday triumphs and challenges of life and we decided to move to Delaware. Then, after starting to settle in to the way things work here and making decision about what I need to do to make life work around here, another curve-ball. Now, the prospect of being a single parent back in Texas and being 1500 miles from my boys has definitely stirred the waters of my life. There's so much more to go with that. I'm praying that God will show me the way.

Change/Unknown

Looking for a new job is always a bitter/sweet ordeal for me. I always enjoy certain amounts of change. Those that have been around me for a certain amount of time know that I change the status of my facial hair on a regular basis. I've currently done two stints with a full beard over the last couple of months along with different variations of a goatee. When possible and practical, I like to periodically change the furniture around just to have a little different perspective. In many ways, I think change is good. What I don't enjoy as much is changing jobs and changing houses. That's what I'm facing right now. A lot of it, at this point, is the unknown. I'm not one for surprises. I like to know things ahead of time. I have been known, in the distant past, to find my Christmas presents before hand instead of being able to wait until Christmas day. That's just a part of my personality that I struggle with. Right now, I've applied for a head coaching position in Caldwell, TX. I think it would be an ideal situation but there are a lot of unknowns and variables that I'm considering and the simple fact that I have no idea whatsoever that I have a chance of being hired. Then comes the chore of finding an ideal place to live. I'm getting anxious for Spring Break so that I can maybe get a little closer to knowing how things are going to "pan out." I look forward to getting out of Newark High School. I'm tired of having over 200 students and very few resources. I'm tired of teaching 6 classes on top of my coaching duties. I'm tired of being in a place where I feel restricted in being able to do the things I'm capable of because of a system that is so broken. So, change will be good but it sure can be pretty scary for me, too.

Losing

So, in the last year, I've really had to get myself accustomed to losing. Since I took over as head coach in the middle of last year, my teams have gone 1-30. That's absolutely horrible!!! The last year I was in Texas, I coached a freshman team. Essentially, I took over all the coaching of this team from a woman that was pregnant and knew she would be leaving after just a few games. We ended that season 25-3 and we were 16-0 after I had taken over. Our whole program at Bryan was successful like that. I thing between all three teams that season, we were 75-13 and 33-1 in district play. It was great to be a part of that and really hard to come take over a program that has done almost nothing but lose. We actually, although only winning one game, could call ourselves more successful than last year even though we aren't winning. The game we won, we won by 20 over a team we only beat by 6 last year. At the end of the season, we have actually been competitive and have come within 10 points of teams that beat us easily the first time we saw them. One of my seniors that didn't start playing basketball till she started high school, has dramatically improved. In the first half of the season, she had very little production. In the last three games, she has totalled almost 25 points and almost 35 rebounds. Those are the things I'm proud of and those are the victories I claim. It still sucks to lose. These girls deserve to see more than improvement. They deserve to end a game with their score being higher than the other team's, just one more time. We have two more opportunities for this to happen.

Weighted

I'm feeling pretty weighted today. Do you ever have those days where you literally feel like there's weight just pulling your shoulders down? That's how I'm feeling. It's kinda hard to shake off. It doesn't help that my basketball team is now 1-18. We have done nothing but fight an uphill battle. Things are so weird here in Delaware. I just received an email today from my Athletic Director asking me to not get any more technicals this season. Attached to the email was the report filed with the DIAA (Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association) by the official that gave me a technical in a game a couple of weeks ago. If I get another technical this season (the other was my first and only one so far) I will be suspended from the following game. It's a little bit ridiculous especially when the officials here are so horrible. Don't get me wrong, I know it seems like I'm complaining because I'm losing but that's definitely not the case. We lost a game about 3 weeks ago by 30 points but it was officiated well and I thanked those officials after the game. It's not about being "given" anything. It's simply about calling the game correctly. Anyway, that's not all that's bugging me. In fact, that's kind of minor in comparison but it sure doesn't help. I want to be able to shift this weight a little and I feel kinda helpless to do so. It's hard to deal with so many things at one time on an emotional level. It drains me.