Tonight is the first night I have had time to actually sit down and string together an intelligent thought. It's been a very busy two weeks since the wasp nearly took me down. [Killed 'em dead by the way...] Gabe has managed to do OK at school [but home is a completely different story...boy is giving us a run for our money]. Everyone else at the Short house has managed to have a good start to the school year but we are super busy.
I had this idea [OK...I stole this idea from Pinterest....don't judge me] to make our lunches a little more appetizing and healthy this year. It's been a hit with my family [except Coop because he eats so much that I would need to make three lunches for him each day...he prefers to fix his own] and so far, I've managed to keep wowing them with my combos. [Yes, I took pictures to show on my blog.]
It makes lunch fun:) Craig has even commented on how full he gets [we cut out the bread] and that he enjoys not knowing what he is having for lunch. Honestly, we cook dinner at home every night but having leftovers when you have Gigantor eating doesn't usually happen. This takes me no longer to fix than sandwiches and stuff. [Plus, I must admit, it's been kind of fun coming up with combos to put in the containers.] Good stuff!!
Since college football is in full swing Craig has been sitting [literally] in his recliner for the last two weekends. [If I would allow him to urinate in a two liter bottle from the chair he wouldn't have to get up. So far he has not won that battle. He won't.] Last night App State played on ESPN 3 online so we had [please note the sarcasm] to hook up Molly's computer to the flat screen, flip between that game and several others, and watch something else on the iPad.
Yes. Our house looked like the TV aisle at the Wal-Mart. And that blue cup you ask? Hmmm...that's a cricket holder until Craig decided he was going to let the poor thing go outside. College football or bust is his motto...and he sticks to it.
[You may want to exit at this point because I am about to bring out ye old soapbox and stand squarely in the middle.] Apparently it is OK to just say what you want on Facebook, with total disregard for anyone else. Its also, apparently, acceptable to make a statement that blankets a group of people and puts them in a very negative light [like the football coaches at the high school] without speaking to them first. Now don't get me wrong...you can say whatever...it's a free country. But just because you can doesn't mean that you should. And you should use a little bit of tact when making such a negative and bold statement about a group, from this community, if you are choosing to post your statement in a public forum.
It simply irritates me to see parents that want to do nothing but make assumptions about the coaches. I live with one of them. I know how hard he works to do his job. Does that make him perfect? Heck no. Does that mean that every single decision made on the field is the absolute correct one? Heck no. In fact, [I do know a thing or two about football] there are a lot of Fridays when I say, "Hey why did or didn't ya'll do this or that?" And his reply? "Well we don't have the personnel to make this happen." Or "We tried something new." Or "This kid has never played this position." Or "The execution was not good." However, I've NEVER heard him say, "Well we just didn't have a game plan." Or "We don't care if we win or not."
The other thing that perturbes me about this situation on Facebook is that it was made in a public forum for the whole world to pass judgement on without knowing the facts. To make a bold statement like these coaches are "unsportsman like" was way off base. Again, if there is an issue then speak to someone in private and get the ENTIRE story. If you have an issue then take care of it like an adult. Yes, I have kids and I will fight to the death for them. We stick up for our kids. But throwing others "under the bus" without knowing everything is not very mature.
What you don't know when you are talking about how the coaches don't do this for your kid or that for your kid is this: They spend numerous hours [for free, on their time] planning for games, making sure uniforms are washed, painting, cutting, and caring for the fields, before and after practice, watching film, discussing plays, driving back and forth to games, making sure pre-game meal is ready, and countless other details that the average person doesn't even begin to understand. They don't cuss the players. [There are some schools, close by that cannot say that.] They try to get to know the players and help them out when there are issues, even off the field. At the end of the day, when its all said and done, their OWN children and families pay the price. Yet, we see that they love what they are doing so we are willing to support their efforts to teach character, discipline, and yes, a little football to these young men.
They, as coaches, make mistakes on the sidelines. They make mistakes at practice. They are human. But year in and year out they work, year round, to make sure that each player on the team is a part of something that means more than wins. You see, I can say [with 100% certainty] that coaching is more than Friday nights to every single one of them. I can say [because as a coach's wife there is alot of venting from my favorite coach♥] that they wear any loss, any mistake, any situation on their sleeve and it eats them up way more than those of you who aren't "on the inside" would EVER know. Support them. Tell them thanks for giving of their time. [Honestly, that goes for EVERY coach your child may ever have while playing sports.] No one will ever agree with every single thing that is done by a coach...that is OK.
You are entitled to your opinion but don't spew negativity all over Facebook before having the facts. Coaching is a hard job and they need support.
[Soapbox put back neatly until next time.]
