2021 - Sunday's Off

If my yearly goal is to write a book, I'll need time to do it. 

The blog takes time.

There are posts that take an hour and posts like this one that take under 10 minutes.

Pulling numbers out of thin air, if one post takes me an average of 20 minutes and I post 365 days a year, that equates to ~122 hours of writing. If I take 1 day off a week that drops to ~104 hours. 

It's not a lot of time, but it's better than nothing.

So, I'm thinking I'll take Sundays off this year and see how it goes. I've had trouble keeping up through virtual school, so even if it doesn't translate to chapters it may help me make it through first semester!

Reflection 2020 / Goals 2021

2020's been a year. 

Despite all the memes like this...

...and this...

...and this!

It's still been a good year for us. Sure, I haven't seen more than an episode or two of The Office, but I'm not lying either. I would not have chosen virtual school, but the time around my family has been nice. Shane's gotten to visit family often, we still had our beach vacation, and I joined a book club.

Looking back at the year's goals, they weren't all disrupted by COVID 19. Carrie's knee surgery was a bust and I haven't found a consistent church small group. But I have gotten more hooked in at MHS, joined a book group with a fellow teacher, and our barn has grown to have a stable population or horses and people. Carrie's health has been up and down with the pandemic and other things, but she's survived it all and we beat Pandemic Legacy Season 0 together in November! Shane played in the local soccer league during the pandemic without an outbreak and while we haven't had anyone sleep over at our house, Shane's slept over at Nana's and Cole's houses many times! He got to have a sleepover or two at Grandma and Grandpa's house with his Cassano cousins, too! 

It's the time of year to look ahead and make new goals.

The short list:

1 - Survive virtual school and have a job for next school year.
2 - Plug in more with the local faith community.
3 - Write a book.
4 - Keep learning.
5 - Have a sleepover with a LOCAL Shane friend.
6 - Install a pull-up bar somewhere and actually exercise again.
7 - Keep Carrie sane.

As for the details....most of them are pretty self explanatory. SOLs are coming up at the end of January and the Superintendent will make a decision about whether the schools move to Stage 4 or not around the same time. I want to be part of a small group with kids. I want to finish writing a book. It doesn't even have to be good, but it'd be great if it was. I enjoyed learning archery over the summer and I'll try my hand at it or something else when I get more free time. It'd be nice if I found someone local to practice my Spanish with. Preferably someone with a kid Shane's age, so that he could learn some Spanish, too. Maybe they could even sleep over at some point!

Honestly, I don't think it's an overly ambitious list. I think things have been mostly headed in the right direction and I want to continue marching on while making adjustments. I wrote and posted this a little early to help catch up on the blog to where I need to be!

So here's to 2021! Farewell, 2020. You'll live on in history books and memory, but time waits for nobody. Not even itself.

Summer Goals & Midyear Reflection

This year had a wrench thrown in it with the pandemic, but my goals are still my goals for the year. It's time to look at them to see what I need to do before the end of the year!

These were my goals for 2020. I'm doing pretty well!

I need to work on sitting in a saddle and finding a volunteer opportunity (other than the barn). Carrie's not going to be getting surgery anytime soon, because of the pandemic.

Speaking of the pandemic, I added a pair of 'bonus' goals to the list: Stay healthy and stay sane.

So far, so good!

My summer goals were simpler.

I read, I wrote a lot of blog posts in spurts after falling behind, and I've shot a lot of arrows in between keeping my family sane and healthy. I did some planning for a story, but nothing of said story has been written.

Shane typed and practiced Japanese all summer. I don't know how much he really knows of either, but I think some groundwork was done. Will he continue? Maybe. Socially, he's gotten along great with the cousins!

For Carrie, it was her summer of horses. She hasn't traveled as much to walk & talks, but there have been so many other things going on I can't list them all here. The kittens were a bonus.

Summer Goals 2020

As of Monday, June 8th at 4:00 PM my summer started.

It was an odd transition.

My normal end of school year crash hit. Normally, I'd want to visit people, travel, and get out and about to re-energize and savor life, but that's off the table right now. I want to go to the beach to reconnect with family, but that's a couple weeks off. We need to self-quarantine if we do go due to Pop's health, and hopefully infection numbers don't spike due to protests.

Staying at home without work and without social calls feels molasses slow. There's a lack of a sense of urgency about nearly everything yet I feel like there should be something.

Summer Goals

For me:
1. Read!
2. Write!
3. Learn!
4. Keep Active!

Did the exclamation points energize you? I was trying to energize myself, but I could have missed.

Breakdown:
1. Read - I want to read more. The Wheel of Time book club has been fun, but one guy is way behind. I stopped reading for 2 or 3 weeks to not pull too far ahead. I didn't pick up anything in between. I want Shane to read for pleasure more, so I'm hoping he'll see me reading more and take the hint (so far, he hasn't!).

2. Write - I need to catch and keep up with the blog....and I'm thinking of trying my hand at fiction again. Brandon Sanderson teaches a university class on writing sci-fi/fantasy and posted the lectures online. I've been watching one a day. I used to dream about being an author. I've moved on, but it could be healthy to stretch my creative muscles. I wanted to run a GURPs campaign for my friends, but that never started.

3. Learn - Learning helps prevent boredom. I'd love to learn more about writing, a language, and riding.

4. Keep Active - Speaking of riding, that would be good exercise. I live around horses, so I should probably know how to ride them, right? I tried to start an exercise routine months ago, but gave up. I'm fit enough to do what I want and didn't see the point in more strength training. My weight has already hit my normal summer level instead of my school level, so I don't want to slide any further!

For Shane:
1. Typing skills
2. Language skills
3. Social skills

Breakdown:
1. Typing - Shane hunts and pecks. He doesn't like to write, and I bet it's because he's like me. I didn't like writing when I was younger, because I couldn't get my ideas down (legibly) as fast as they flowed. Keyboarding was a boring class, but learning how to type opened me up to writing and has made my whole life easier. I'm using those skills to write this! I want Shane to learn how to touch-type some so that he will have that tool in his toolkit.

2. Language - Young brains learn languages better. I wanted to work on my Spanish with Shane, but he wanted to learn Japanese because Pokemon. I decided it was better to let Shane have his say in the matter and signed him up for a free Rosetta Stone trial. I have no idea if this will stick or not. I don't know any fluent Japanese speakers, but I guess there's anime.

3. Social Skills - Shane's not built to stay at home without a social outlet. It would drive him, Carrie, and me all crazy if he was forced to. I want to see cousins and friends and let him learn how to communicate and compromise!

For Carrie:
1. Horses!
2. Horse people!

Breakdown:
I asked and Carrie's goals were simple: Get out and get connected in the horse community. She wants to trailer places off property, meet riders, fox hunt, and get plugged in. She thinks it would be good exercise for her and the horses!

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Reflections

I'm going to stop putting "COVID 19" in all of my titles from here on. Been there; done that.

Goals for the "corona-break:"
1) Establish routines.
2) Live! Don't just wait for it to pass!
3) Keep Shane growing.....and not on electronics all day.
4) Take care of all those house things I say I'd do "If I had time."
5) Make a difference.

Honestly, I think our 'break' went well.

1) We had home-school routines and then virtual school routines. This past week when Shane's been done and I haven't has been more of an electronics-fest. I'm working on starting some new routines....but I need my own work to stop.

2) The barn has certainly been alive! Carrie's been more social than ever. We've had horses come and go, trials, tribulations, updates, and a whole lot of poop. We've watched shows together as a family and still managed to make some fun memories like the corona-eggs.

3) Shane's had more electronics than ever, but he's done other stuff. Just maybe not this past week. He hasn't acted stressed or worried at all throughout. He'd love to see more kids, but without family in the area and moving away from our old neighborhood it hasn't happened. We have seen Henry a few times and I consider this goal a win under the circumstances.

4) The pictures aren't hung up and we're not all unpacked, but in my defense I feel like a lot has happened. The unfinished projects aren't from me doing nothing all day! I mean, I could have found more time if they really mattered to me, but I guess they don't. Cuz I didn't.

5) There's always the thought I could've called more kids and done a little more. I was disappointed on Friday, because I contacted at least 12 kids and not a lot of work got turned in to show for it. I spent Saturday itching to grade something. Anything! But nothing came in. 80% of my students finished Geometry for the year. I'm hoping for more, but it's down to a trickle. I'll post a final update after my contract finishes.

In some ways, this break has cast me in a supporting role. The barn has been a hotbed of activity and people looking to get away for a little. Carrie's been the main socialite and head of barn strategy and operations. I've spent a lot of time with Shane. He talks my ear off in a constant stream of his thought and inner soundtrack.

What's happened this break

Shane - Finished home-school and virtual school. Traveled to several barns. Got better at lacrosse in time for the season to cancel. Did a little riding and a little archery. Helped with more chores. Beat some video games, finished some shows, and got a lot better at rummy!

He grew a huge amount of hair, too.

Carrie - Shifted from full time travel agent to full time barn manager. Started to ride and train more. Has been much more social. Experienced the highs and lows of running a boarding barn. Lost all her travel bookings (and therefore agent income). With everything going on she has been less stressed than I expected, but I'm looking forward to her heart healing more (Hopefully after this next hurdle and before the next hits!).

The Barn - Filled up, slimmed down, and filled up. Horses came and went. Most stayed. Added new bells and whistles. Fixed old problems and discovered new ones. Annie was sold and Nibs is at boarding school. Our horses got put on diets, but Sam's muzzle keeps Magic-ally coming off.

The House - Where'd that deck come from?

Me - Stayed productive. Got way behind on the blog and almost caught back up for my birthday. I was a full time teacher through ways and means unexpected. I was more creative in the beginning with Shane's homeschooling 'projects,' but now I'm tired. The wife's healthy, the boy's healthy, and the dog's healthy, the cats are cats, and the horses poop constantly.

New Year, New Goals

I doubled up on yesterday's post to leave a spot for my yearly goals post.

Reflection -

1. Prepare and sell house - Done!
2. Build, Move, Adjust - A LOT has happened.
3. Carrie with horses - Companion horse? We've got spares now. We've got one boarder. Hope for more!
4. Figure out job - New job in progress. Almost halfway through the year.
5. Community - Life has become more and more busy. Tried a small group, but it broke up. Working to stay connected with people. We are attending a local church. Shane normally asks to go there.
6. Career - I don't have time for a PhD. I don't have time for a side job. Work, barn, and parenting take all my time.
7. Have fun - Got some of that in!
8. Shane - Well, he is reading more!

Goals -

1. Hook in at MHS - Don't just survive; Thrive. Make a difference. Make friends. Make the most of it.
2. Start to ride again - I'm around horses all the time. Need to keep learning to be useful.
3. Carrie's surgery - She's going to need knee surgery at some point again. We're thinking this summer. She'll need time to recover and I'll be in charge.
4. Carrie's health in general - Any and all of it. I do what I can to help relieve stress and pressure.
5. Establish a boarding barn - Already in progress...but we need more boarders! It would be nice to turn it into at least somewhat of a revenue stream. It would be fun to have some sort of social events here, too, like a potluck (or something where I get food!).
5. Have a sleepover with a Shane friend at some point - It'd be fun and a sign we're closer with a family.
6. Volunteer more....somewhere.
7. Keep building connections:
   Me: I'd love to get a board game group going. Somehow. Somewhere. I'd like to get involved in another small group or the same one if they form back up again. I've been so busy lately I haven't kept up conversations with some of my old friends as much as I wish I had. I want to stay connected with people. Shane's cousins on Carrie's side are back in Virginia, so I'd like to add them to the family we visit.
   Carrie: Keeps meeting more horse people and I hope we'll have more boarders to keep track of. When she's feeling better, she can go on fox hunts (which she's wanted to do anyway! Hopefully, we'll have a "Guild Meeting" one day and Chris, Gen, and maybe even Emily or Bill will make it to the farm.
   Shane: I plan on signing Shane up for the local soccer league instead of SOCA this spring. I want to join the pool this summer and do swim lessons there instead of ACAC, as well. Henry has been our most regular friend, but I'd love to have a more steady stream of social appointments for Shane's sake and my sanity.

I may think of more later. My goals are a starting point.

Midyear Goal Reflection

Summer goals: Move.

Year goals: A bunch of stuff....including "Move."

It's safe to say we've moved. We are living in the new house. I've been back at work. Shane's here. The cat's are here. Tomorrow is the first day of school for kids.

The barn is not done. The fence is not done, and the horses are not here yet.

There have been tons of errands here and there. The truck needed a new liner. The trailer needed an inspection. More furniture needs to be put together. The busted truck needs to be cleaned up, marketed, and sold...

There's still stuff to do, but we're here and living life! It will take time for our roots to really sink in.

I want to start going to a local small group. I want Shane to find a buddy or two at school we can invite over. I want to connect with people at my work.

All things that will take time.

I am excited for the first day of school.

Goals Draft

I started this as a shorthand draft and decided to keep it that way (with some editing for complete sentences, etc).

Reflection
In general - This was a year of "Keep up the good work." We did the same thing we've done in previous years to good effect. I'm halfway through my 4th year at a job that matters even if I'm burned out. We know more people, Shane's made memories, and we've been living life.

1. Job - renewed the license. Stayed in my current positions another year despite burnout. Never looked into PhD more or PVCC.

2. Community - Did trivia nights, online gurps, joined a small group, shane is still in sports which I helped coach, coaching keeps connections, etc.

3. Did not do summer camp....but we are doing one this year! Build that independence!

4. Nibs is stabilized...for now. Horse health has been all over. Carrie made the difficult decision to move on from Armour, but it was necessary.

5. Bible and Spanish - I'm reading my verses. Shane knows some proverbs, but I have not been nearly as structured as I intended with Shane and this goal. We didn't do anything with Spanish, either. We need a Spanish speaking friend. I tried a little bit to nurture one connection, but it never materialized.

6. Wrestling - Middle school program has plateaued. I have more recognition from the school admin, but the numbers are lower. The kids who stick with me look good, though! They enjoy it and I enjoy coaching them. Elementary school is a bust. I tried it a second year and it fell apart. I was promised buses and they never showed up (which is a common problem for the schools this year - They just emailed out they're changing bus routes due to a shortage of drivers). I don't think I'll run the ES program again. The HS team is doing better. The roster is fuller and we can actually win against average teams. A couple kids look to be shaping up into future captains and real competitors.

7. Travel - We got around! We've done a lot of things.

New goals
In general - We've somehow maintained an average of moving every three to four years. This time, we hope it's the final move for a long time. Carrie's getting her dream barn and she's getting it close enough to civilization I'm not worried about it. However, that means there's moving on the horizon. That's a lot of work. The first 9 months of this year will involve fixing up our house, moving our stuff, building a house, moving in, and adjusting to a new area and a new school for Shane. We closed on the land on the 28th. I'm still thinking of changing jobs, but now I'm wondering if I should hold off. There's going to be a lot of change already and depending on where I go, I might have to give up my current coaching gig. It's only $500 a year to coach, but it's meaningful beyond the money.

1. Prepare and Sell House - 'Nuff said.

2. Build, Move, and Adjust - Currently, Carrie's doing most of the work, but my role will grow.

3. CARRIE: Companion horse, moves horses, start riding, and find some boarders. I'm not really involved in this other than in a support role! I'll be forced to learn more barn chores after we set  up our barn, though. During my fun road trip, Carrie had some horse drama where she moved Nibs to Sonya's barn. Nibs is loving life down there and Carrie enjoys visiting her.

4. Figure out Job! - This seems to happen frequently. Do I shift to the County to be on the same schedule about Shane? But what about wrestling? Do I try to teach Elementary School even though the thought scares me? I'd like to get out of Special Ed. I'll have done 13 years as a SPED teacher and would love to say goodbye to all the paperwork.

5. Community - I want to keep building community wherever we go. A new area means we'll need new connections. Should we try the Scottsville UMC? Maybe try a Scottsville small group through the Point? And we can't forget old friends!

6. Career - PhD? Admin? Apply to PVCC as an adjunct? I keep bringing this up. I don't think it's a bad idea to keep trying to grow, but I haven't jumped on anything yet. When sliding down the banister of life, don't get a splinter in your career. -Hank the cowdog.

7. Have Fun! - Life is about more than work and goals. Fun helps counter burnout, too! I've enjoyed trivia night and I'd like to get GURPs or another game group going. There is a brewery in Scottsville near our home site that has trivia and game nights every so often. Being a regular somewhere at something is a great way to make connections.

Shane goals - To be more aware, emphatic and a listener? He loves to talk, but he's not the best at listening. It bothers me when he tries to spin stories like he knows things when it's clear he's talking out of his butt ("Oh really? So, who sat you down and told you about how raids work in World of Warcraft in your 2nd grade class that you want to explain it all to your mother?") Questions and curiosity are welcome. I'd like him to read more independently and enjoy it, as well (When reading today, had to read aloud to people and suddenly he enjoyed it. Sat on the arm of my chair and if I tried to write he moved his butt onto my pen hand)

Spiritual - More organized prayer life

Roots - Started, still somewhat attached, image of stretching them so plan is out of ground and then stretching plant to south and replanting with roots running up to Cville

Self Improvement - Judo? Exercise? Take up riding again? I'll probably need to be more familiar with horses working on a farm...

Carrie and Shane - Horseback riding lessons? Something they can share memories about besides being on the couch and TV

All a bunch of random thoughts. I'm falling behind on my blog posting again, so I'm rushing to get some stuff written down. I took a long break from coffee, but started up again for Christmas. You'd think that would help, but I've also started playing video games again and that counters being more awake in the morning and then some!

First Week Off + Summer Goals

I cleaned. A lot.

I worked on laundry and vacuumed the whole house. Shane helped with picking up. Carrie took a break from her work to do dishes and cook dinner.

It needed to be done. It rained all day and we were in anyway.

Shane earned electronics time here and there. He chose to play Portal at the end of the day. He started to use the mouse instead of the controller and Carrie laughed it was his first time to use "WASD."

I stayed busy the whole day to the point I wasn't sure what I would do with myself on the morrow! It's not like you ever fully run out of work, though. There's always something to do.

Summer Goals for 2018:

1. RECOVER! From the burnout....because it starts again in two months!
2. Make Memories! Travel!
3. Stay connected!
4. Make new connections!
5. Be grateful!
6. Exercise!
7. PhD program research!
8. Be exciting! Use exclamation points!

Rationale:
1. Gotta get ready to teach again next year!
2. Shane only gets one shot at childhood. Carrie and I only get one shot at a Summer of 2018. I want to live it up! I want to live a life worth living.
3. It takes work to keep up with people. I'm blessed with a lot of family and friends....none of which live in Charlottesville. Summer is one of my best chances to catch up.
4. Shane needs more friends to help fill the summer days. Still hoping to find that lifetime friend for him. Speaking of friends, I'd love to have a nerdy friend or two in Cville myself. I have lots of people I know and like, but none that share my hobby.
5. It's Biblical.
6. I keep saying I need to do it and then don't. Time to do it.
7. I got my license renewed. I took the GRE last year.....now what do I do with it?
8. Everyone needs a laugh.

Reflection 2017 and Goals 2018

Goals for the past year (2017):

1) Be the best ____ I can be.
2) Build community
3) Look into a Doctorate
4) Have a plan for the summer.

I'd say it was a successful year.

1) It's hard to measure #1 quantitatively, but I believe the year went well. The others are simpler.
2) I know more people. I recognize them in different places.
3) I looked. I took the GRE. I did not move beyond that, though.
4) Beach week, Camp Nana and Pop, Mike and Carrie getaway...There was a plan!

There were a lot of big events: Finishing my 2nd year of wrestling with a new HS coach, Carrie's career switch, Nib's birth, Mira's passing, trailer and truck adventures, Korra, Captain, tons of trips including the beach, SC twice, a Mike and Carrie date get away, trying new sports (t-ball and basketball), Shane learning how to ride his bike....the list goes on (That helps explain why I have so many blog posts).

Goals for the upcoming year (2018):

1) Take my next career steps.

• Renew license (every 5 years)
• Figure out the whole PhD or EdD thing. Apply if it looks like a good fit.
• Part time at a community college? I think I'm already qualified, but busy. 

2) Community! Keep building it! Look for a small group again.

3) Summer Camp for Shane this summer. He's not old enough for a sleep away, but he should try a day camp.

4) Stabilize horses - Largely on Carrie. I'd like to get a stable situation with her riding and training regularly. She loves her equines and they're good for her.

5) Work on Bible verse and language acquisition - Maybe I'll write them in Spanish.

6) Continue to grow wrestling in the city - I'll run the Elementary program again and see if I can keep growing the Middle School program in a healthy manner. An assistant coach would help at some point.....and I need to figure out uniforms. I never did this year.

7) Travel - It's good for Shane and good for memories.

GRE Test

I took the GRE today. My boss let me head out early. I've been thinking about a doctorate and this test is part of the applications process.

It took me almost 7 hours to drive, test, and return. The testing center was in Lynchburg. I had to turn all my pockets inside out, bare my ankles, turn my ring, and get wanded with a metal detector to test. The woman made me rewrite my signature, because it changed slightly from the one on back of my license I first wrote 19 years ago.

I did well enough for my purpose, though. Glad I got it out of the way before the students showed up.

Summer Goals 2017

1. Teach Shane to ride his bike.
2. Go on some trips! Make some memories!
3. Finally play Pandemic Legacy.
4. Help Shane build connections.
5. Get some sort of adult social life going on.
6. Think of something else for Shane to learn or experience
7. Learn something myself (Will I finally try Judo? Or focus on exercising? What about that doctorate program research?)

There's already a beach week planned and some other stuff on the horizon. I wonder if the bike will be the hardest part, because Shane's been a chicken.

Few more days to survive at work. It's been a busy, busy end of year and it's time for summer.

Goals 2017

1). Be the best...,

• Husband
• Father
• Teacher
• Coach
• Neighbor

  .....that I can be.

2) Build community

3) Look into a Doctorate

4) Have a plan for the summer.

Upcoming biggies: Baby horse due in March/April. Shane goes to 1st Grade in August. 2017-18 is a Teacher license renewal year. Half my wrestlers go to high school: Will there be enough the following year?

Goals explained

1 - There's always room to grow. These are my momentary, daily, weekly, yearly, and lifelong goals.

2 - I had a social network growing up. I'd like to get Shane plugged in and teach people are more important than things.

3 - I've thought about this for a while. I could drop the 'Dr' when I talk to PhD/MeeDs and say, "Oh, I have one of those, too. That doesn't make us doctors!"

4 - Because I don't have one yet and don't know what it will be.

Goals Reflection

Second day of the new contract seems a good day to look at how the goals are going.

Writing.....caught up! Less than previous years, but caught up. We've made some stories this year. Success.

Take care of ourselves......Carrie finished her third round of antibiotics and had her chest x-rayed for the cold/pneumonia/cough-something she's had for a month. Shane and I haven't caught it. Otherwise, Shane's gone to the dentist and so have I. I made an appointment to check with a dermatologist since I haven't done that in a decade. Success (mostly....Carrie will get better!).

Family vacations.....West Virginia and a flight to Florida planned for the future. Time off approved. Shane and I went to the beach and we've had a day trip or two as a family unit (canyons and horse barns, oh my!). Success.

Shane ready for his first year of school.....starts in a week! I think he's more than ready. Kindergarten may be a step down to challenge him academically and a step up in learning how to get along with other kids. I like the school he's going to. The only thing left is to do it and see what happens. Success.

Unpack everything and thin the stockpile.......ha! Fail. Now we have chickens.

Make an impact.....the chickens haven't started to lay eggs yet. My school helped eleven kids graduate. That was great. Now the bar has been set and we have to ensure it's not a fluke. Work in progress.

Goals for 2016

This year, my goals are:

1) To make an impact in our new city,
2) To unpack EVERYTHING.....and get rid of a chunk of it,
3) To have Shane ready for his first year of school,
4) To take more family vacations,
5) To take care of ourselves,
6) and to catch up on my writing (I got behind).

Number 6 is self-explanatory. I've never been this backlogged on my blog.

Number 5 is dreadfully obvious if you've read since November. Carrie's next ortho appointment is next week. She's doing much better, but we all need to get physicals, find a family dentist, and keep healthy! I just got back on schedule with my allergy shots.

Number 4 comes straight from my Reflection 2015. Shane and I went a lot of places....without Carrie. She went to upstate New York, Oregon, and blazed a path down to Charlottesville without us. It'd be nice to travel more as a unit! Shane's old enough he has a chance to remember much more than before.

Number 3 hits after summer. It's an exciting time. I don't see a need to cram or study for kindergarten, but I want to start Shane off on the right foot. I don't want to have him miss out on anything because I forgot to register him for classes or something silly. There are questions to answer before August. What school should he go to? The neighborhood one? Or the one behind where I work so I can drop him off and pick him up easily? What will he need? Will we need to figure out a new form of child care before and after school? Will sports and/or preschool help him learn how to sit still for a moment and get along with others? When am I going to get that boy his next round of swim lessons?

Number 2 needs to happen well before kindergarten. Shane's clothes drawers are over-flowing. Used kid clothes are cheap at the thrift stores Nana likes to frequent. We need to donate or pass on a flood of clothes. Or porch has become our de facto attic and recycling/large trash staging area since we moved in. The only difference from a normal attic is that this one is outside for all of our neighbors to see. I hope they don't mind. It's bound to get cold and I'm not really in a huge hurry.

Finally, Number 1. Always have to look out for it. I want to set roots and make a difference in Cville. The longer we've been here, the more I've realized it is a much smaller town than I'm used to. There's a sort of anonymity in NOVA. People come; People go. You can go into a store, yell "DINOSAUR," and run out with long odds of meeting anyone you know. Not so, around here. The city is big enough at first glance, but small enough for connections to start to appear all over. Anonymity is harder to come by.

I've got a plan to get hooked, though. It starts with teaching. Roots come from people and teaching is a people centered job. Coaching comes next. The wrestling world is a smaller one here and I'm happy to chip in. We've found a church we like, joined a small group, and I want to find a volunteer opportunity after wrestling ends. Carrie's found a horse/nerd buddy in the area, but I haven't stumbled across someone I'd call a buddy yet. Lots of nice people, neighbors, and acquaintances. No one who approaches the level of my NOVA friends, yet (I was pretty spoiled in that regard). I hope to find a family with a kid Shane's age. That may be easier when he's in kindergarten, but I'll keep dragging him around town looking for fun things to do and people to bump into in the meantime.

My goals are general again, because the future is wide open. It'll be interesting to see where He leads me.

Reflection 2015

My goals from the past year are here.

There has been a lot of transition.

In the past year:

• Carrie started a new job and moved to Charlottesville.
• She lived in a rented townhouse.
• I finished my first season coaching wrestling.
• We sold our house.
• Shane and I lived at Nana and Pop's until they moved.
• Carrie and I bought a house in Charlottesville.
• Shane moved to Grandma and Grandpa's.
• He moved to Charlottesville next.
• I slept at Jama's and at Matt's new house (which he and Renee bought in May).
• I finished my last year teaching in Fairfax County and moved to Charlottesville.
• In August, I started a new job.
• In November, I started coaching wrestling again.
• A week later, I became the head middle school coach.
• Oh, and we got a horse.
• Carrie fell off it.
• Come to think of it, the Prius died back in April. 
• That's when we bought the bug.
• A moped may have been purchased somewhere in there, too.
• Shane's been to three day-cares.
• And that's the short list.

We figured out where we were going and got there, though. It was dramatic at times, too. We are not 100% settled to my standard, but we've come a long way.

Shane did get involved in preschool, soccer, and our community group. Wrestling is in progress. He attended a Pee Wee practice before Christmas. I wasn't sure he liked it, but he asked about it again today. 

Travel was more sporadic. We've received more visitors than we've taken trips. Shane and I have both been to SC and NOVA again. The boy and I road tripped down to Roanoke to see Kyle ref hockey, as well. We never made it west as a family. MomMom passed away in Montana. Carrie attended the funeral in St. Louis. The Oregon trip became a Carrie-only, immediate turn-around affair partly as a result. Our only family trips that come to mind were runs to Grandma and Grandpa's and a time-share sales pitch. We got adventures in and I feel connected to old roots, but I hope to get some more family trips in in the future (emphasis on family!). 

Shane's grown tremendously throughout. His baby pictures astound me. Shane read some beginner books for me on the couch earlier. I don't know what mischief he'll be capable of December 2016. 

Carrie and I's growth is harder to see. Carrie spotted a white hair in my beard for the first time (they've been there!). I won't tell you if she has any or from what. It'd be a toss up whether Shane or I caused them. 

Thank you, Lord, for giving and guiding us through an interesting year. I pray 2016 involves lots of settling in and growing roots, but mainly I'm curious to see where you'll take us (after I get some sleep first, of course).

Goals for 2015

To keep the tradition alive, I present to you:

MY GOALS FOR 2015!!!!11!!1!!1!!1!!

Goals

1. Be more dramatic - See above.

2. Figure out where we're going! - Seriously, where are we going? It's not here.

3. Get there! - That's going to be a lot of work.

4. Get Shane involved in something - A sport? Wrestling? Soccer? Horseback Riding? Underwater basket-weaving?

5. Make some trips, see some family, and stay connected - Nana and Pop are moving. MomMom's health took a hit. If we're out West anyway Nebraska's right out there. Carrie has a wedding in Oregon she's a big shot in. There's another wedding for my cousin in August. We haven't seen Ka and Stu's house yet. Matt and Renee will have to move when Nana and Pop go. Patrick will be in transition, too. John and I are talking more. The list goes on and on!

6. Keep growing - Shane's growing up, but I don't feel like I'm done becoming me either. I don't think that process ever stops. I don't know what this year will entail, but I don't want to focus on survival alone.

Do you see a theme with my goals?

I don't know where we will move to, but it looks like time. I need to start applying for teaching jobs. If no jobs materialize, I will still have my current job as a back-up. Carrie is already looking for jobs in the areas we've chosen to prioritize. If she gets something lined up worthwhile, she may go ahead of us to blaze a trail. Otherwise, we have a ton of things we need to do to get the house ready for sell. We never painted the sun-room, there's not a proper dryer vent for the dryer, and the paint is peeling in some parts of the garage...

If I can get a job and we can sell the house, we'll be okay moving. It would be even better if Carrie arranged a job before we got there, too, but who knows? It's all up in the air. I expect it will be a busy year. Shane's about old enough to start forming lasting memories, too. I want to push him to grow a little bit with all of the change (and maybe travel) if I can.

This list may grow over the next day or two. I wanted to get something down before too much time passed. I have to figure out what in the world my classes are doing Monday tomorrow...

Reflection 2014

The wife and child both fell asleep and here I am. 

Happy New Year whenever the clock dings! I'll probably be sleeping.

I just checked up on my goals and update for the year. 

Reading List

I finally finished the Lord of the Rings Trilogy! Glad I read it, but don't expect I'll do it again. I love the story, the thought in it, behind it, and the message...but it felt like reading a mythology textbook at times. The writing never really swept me away the way that the world itself and all the derivatives it's inspired have affected me.

Next on the reading list:  

Matt loaned me the book last year. I lost it, found it, and I guess I should read it and return it. I've heard good things from Aunt B, John, and Matt. 

Goals Update: 2014 - Spring Edition

Accountability time. How go the goals, Mike?