Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Time to make a change, ch-ch-ch-changes: not a fan. I know, I know, that makes me sound like an old scrooge, but what can I do? Shifts in my circumstances are not welcome. I have never been in an earthquake, but I imagine that the ground starts a slow steady vibration with some spikes of intensity and then the surface starts to shake and bounce. Then, before you know it, the vibration has turned into full shifting and actual quaking, and soon your legs are moving around with the ground. Also, I should mention that in my imagination, I picture this to be really unpleasant and free from thrills or excitement.
Okay, so now I should bring this back to me. SOMETIMES changes in my life feel like that. They scare me. They make me want to run and hide out until it's over and passes by. I don't know what it is that makes me literally want to run for the hills, but the creeping up of it as it moves over me is not my favorite.
I know this all sounds really dramatic, and that's how it feels sometimes. So the things that are different or are changing now: done coaching middle school as of last night. I'm sad about it. Yes, it was super time consuming, and yes, it was overwhelming and at times really frustrating, but it was also so fun! Those little puppy-dog goobers were a breath of fresh air after dealing with angst-ridden-full-blown-TEENAGERS! They would bound up to me after getting off the bus at the high school and just stand there waiting for me to smile or acknowledge them. Then after a simple, "hello," the barrage of stories from the day's adventures would come pouring out of their mouth. Before I could even begin to wrap my mind around one tall-tale, another young-pup would begin his/her onslaught of adventures! Then, I would slowly close my eyes, take a deep breath, throw my head back and just smile and chuckle for these play-things that were enraptured by me! It's quite humbling to think that quite often middle-schoolers just want to walk with you. They just want to boast about how awesome they are and what new thing they learned about or discovered at school that day. To complete the puppy-ensemble would be my favorite: their bodies growing out of proportion with themselves. Often times, big feet reach me before a springy adolescent can stand upright. One day a pup might be at eye-level, and within a blink of an eye, they're looking down on me.
As their coach, these encounters made me laugh. I loved watching them grow and get better at stuff through the season. Last night was our last meet. I watched a girl throw the shot put with correct technique 12 feet further than she did in the beginning of the season! I mean, that, my friends, is an accomplishment. Also at our meet last night I happen to glance over just in time to see a 7th grade girl with the spirit of a 6-year-old bound up to me to tell me her latest accomplishment prefaced with, "COACH MUHA!!! (pause for me to put my pointer-finger over my lips to quiet her down, just a bit..) I just threw 29 FEET!" This exclamation was followed by jumping up and down and me smiling and saying, good job, now go for 30! That and MANY other excitements and accomplishments followed the rest of the night. As we left the track last night with 2 first place finishes, 1 2nd place and another one that I didn't quite catch all of us coaches were bonded. We stood awkwardly for a picture, not sure what to do with our hands, but we were smiling! We had laughed at the familiar jokes from the kids, screamed until our voices cracked and by-golly we had bonded!
I am sad track season is now over. I'm not sure how to get back into my former-life. What am I going to do now after school? I had thought of this time as short, intense and glad when it'll be over. Now, I'm going to miss the little guys:) They definitely leaped and bounded and puppy-licked with their stinky breathe in my heart. (figuratively, of course!)
So, changes, I see you there. I see you just coming right along, Seniors will be gone in 2 more days and then what? I will be sad again. Summer I'm glad you're coming and when kids are hard and mean and rude, and everything else, I'm glad you're nearby...but....

Until next time....
Go Falcons!