Give a little, it will make a difference

After a week long vacation we arrived back home today in the early afternoon.  Like most families, after being gone for an entire week and then come home, there is very little, if anything, in the refrigerator.  So, we unpacked and started laundry (when I say "we" I mean Sara) then ate dinner.  We then decided to go to our local Kroger to pick up food for the week, including items for what will be an amazing shrimp Alfredo I am preparing tomorrow night.

After getting all of our items into the cart (not buggy) we strolled on up to the check-out lanes.  Usually this is pretty non-eventful, beep, swipe and off to the car.  Now, I have to stop the story and tell you a little bit about my son Keagan if you don't know already.  Keagan likes to help.  It really doesn't matter what Sara or I am doing, Keagan wants to help do it.  Clean the floors, cook dinner, bake cookies, clean up the toys.  He also enjoys helping put groceries into the cart at the store and likes taking them out of the cart and put them on the little conveyor belt.  So, if you've ever been to Kroger, you know that there isn't really a conveyor belt, the cashier's empty your carts for you.  This is actually why Sara goes there, because with two (sometimes screaming) children it's nice to have some help.

Now, I hand Keagan the bag of tortillas so he can hand them to our cashier and move on with the process once the person checking-out in front of us is finished.  So there is my little red-headed monster, dancing anxiously next to our cart, ready to help as soon as our cashier reaches for the tortillas.    We proceeded with the check-out and after giving up the tortillas, I move on.  What happened next though, was something I wouldn't expect.  It might not seem a big deal to anyone else, but to my wife and I, but was big enough for us that we both commented on it several times after the fact.

After seeing the joy it brought my son to hand a woman he didn't know a bag of tortillas, our cashier continued pulling items out of our cart and scanning them.  But, with every few items she would grab and scan, she would hand something to Keagan and then immediately ask for it.  After handing over each item, Keagan would smile as big as possible, throw up his hands in excitement and dance around in circles waiting with anticipation for the next thing he was able to help with.

I tell you that really long story so I can share what I learned in that moment...

Slow Down.

This woman could have easily saved her self about 15 seconds by doing everything her self.  But instead she capitalized on a moment to not only give something to someone else, but sit back and see the complete and pure JOY that was in Keagan's happiness in that moment.  We miss far to often, not only the opportunities to do thing for others, but on getting a lot out of the moments when we do decide to slow down and do something for someone else instead of ourselves.

Especially this time of year.  We are all in a hurry to get to the next thing....beep, swipe and move on.  Slow down, look someone in the eye.  Take a minute, or longer, and really try to enjoy what you have. But also make sure to help someone else.  Never miss an opportunity to GIVE, even if it is something simple.

Only winning matters...

Today was a good day, filled with tons of memories.  It's funny how one day can make me look back over eight years of coaching and see all the matches, games, wins, losses, motivational speeches and practices... and how all of that seems to get replaced with talks about life, family and future; smiles, tears, hugs, thank you's. 

Just for a moment I was proud of something, I'm not sure what exactly, but maybe at some point along the way my job worked...maybe I did something right for once.  Maybe I did MORE than just say some numbers before "TEAM on three..."

Earlier this week I was told by a former player, that something I said 7 years ago stuck.  I thought that was pretty cool.   

Earlier today I got a text from a former player letting me though that while watching a volleyball game she had thought about what my reaction would be in that specific situation.

Some days I do a better job than others, some days I try harder than others...

(the above was written in July of 2012)

I had started writing this blog almost a year ago and now; Recent events in the last couple weeks have made me think a lot about this same topic and so I think that now is a good time to finish (and or repeat) some of my thoughts.

I got some "presents" this past week.  These weren't gift cards to Best Buy or a new box of golf balls; these "presents" are far more valuable.  I will always keep them because they are the reason I started coaching in the first place.  They make me smile, laugh and even cry a little.  Some good memories...but none really about winning.  That is what grabs me every time I think about it...what sticks with you in the end?  Is it the winning?  Or is it more than that?  I think that as coaches we can get bogged down by the "W" and ultimately measure our self worth by that.  Now obviously our paycheck at the end of the month might get measured by that, I won't deny that; but I think in the end, if our players only measure us (coaches) by the Win-Loss column, we probably did something wrong.  That's how I feel...maybe that makes me a bad coach by your standard, or maybe that makes me a good one.  Who knows?

Here is what the events in the last couple of weeks have shown me...

For a long time now, one of my prayers has been to ask God if I am in the right place, and along with that, asking what He wants me to do where I am now.  One thing that I often struggle with is seeing myself through God's eyes and seeing myself how He sees me instead of how the world sees me.  It's hard because the world defines success in so many different ways, you never know where you fit.  So, I am often searching for words from God to help ease my uncertainty about who I am.  I think that God speaks to us in many different ways and I know that He was speaking through these "presents" I was given.  I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I think we can find the answers we are looking for...you just have to look.  So, thank you for the presents, it really means a lot to me.

I have no idea what is going to happen next, but I am excited!  And the best part is I can move forward knowing that somewhere along the way I did something right.