So, my 2014 New Year’s Resolution was “commit to less, sleep more”. As I look back, I know why my friends found that laughable! I am a self-proclaimed over-doer, feeling awkward when I don’t have too many irons in the fire. I even describe my life as whack-a-mole…struggling to keep it all under control. But when I have the rare moment to “take it easy”, I conjure up some project that never needed to be done in the first place, but all of a sudden becomes numero uno priority. I really wouldn’t have it any other way.
Let’s recap 2014:
My everyday responsibilities as a secondary school athletic trainer include the usual countless hours of treatments, communication, evaluation of policies and procedures, juggling the desire to grow an ATSA program with character and team building while tending to everybody else’s idea of what I should be doing for their individual sport, regardless of being in-season or not. Beyond the exhausting job of an AT, I went through a staff change with a new athletic director and also a new head football coach change with several other new coaching hires. I never would have thought that a coaching change would seem as though I had changed jobs…but everything changed so drastically that it did seem as though I did not recognize my previous experience. This was certainly not all bad. However, because communication styles and expectations are so different now as compared to before, I had a lot of adjustments that were necessary. This past year also brought a new desk for the office, which may not seem like a big deal but the previous setup was the opposite of effective and efficient. There are two of us in a 10x10 space. Neither of us are large but after many 13+ hour days, the walls start to come in on us like in the Eye of Osiris episode of MacGyver (42:30) where there was extreme tension between the purchase of the desk and the actual installation, #justsayin. At work, I am also a preceptor to the students in the MSAT program at TAMU and I serve as a member of the Master Schedule team.
In the profession, I was very excited to see a year's worth of planning and coordination play out at the SWATA 60th Anniversary Celebration. So many people and organizations made this family night a success and the carnival theme was so much fun!
I am also very blessed to have served SWATA as PR Chair and know that the PR efforts for Arkansas and Texas are in great hands as Kendall has been a natural transition with new energy and ideas!!!
This past year also provided spiritual growth and a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. Josh and I attended a class at Grace Bible Church that helped us to discover our spiritual gifts. I found that my top three are "giving," "helping," and "administration", followed closely by "mercy" and "service". This year, Josh and I were selected to be leaders in the Newlywed/Young Marrieds class at Grace and also lead a small group in our home. This has been very rewarding and we have enjoyed the friendships that we have made.
In addition to all of this, I started grad school! I bit the bullet and was accepted into the UNTHSC MPH program. I started this little journey in August and hope to be completed sometime in 2016. Furthermore, I trained for and completed a half marathon! I signed my twin sister up before she had completely committed to the idea!!! Funny, right?!?! We completed in about 2 hours and 38 minutes. Not bad, huh?
Then there is the highly anticipated Wienerfest where dachshunds from all over come together to compete in races and a costume contest. We took home 2nd place in the race and 3rd in the costume contest (it is rigged, we deserved 1st!!!).
So, as you can see, I committed to more and, in turn, slept less! So, this year, I have decided to be a little bit more realistic with my resolution. Drum roll, please....Be more thoughtful and organized. It is not very bold but certainly will be a challenge for me as I forget to slow down and check on my family and friends. I also consider myself pretty organized but there are major areas that need attention. I really want to push myself to run a marathon and, since I am already in running shape, now is the time to work on that! I also look forward to becoming the NATA PR Chair this year and I feel so blessed to have this opportunity.
I wonder what 2015 has in store for me that I don't even know about! This time next year, will I be driving the same truck? Will my house look the same? Will Josh and I still be head athletic trainers in Bryan ISD? I bet Tank will have more gray hair and Lucy will be completely deaf. Nixon will have a 1st place trophy from Wienerfest, for sure. Will I have any new nieces and nephews...twins, perhaps??? What color will my hair be, and at what length will I have it? Maybe, by then, I will have finally found the perfect khaki pants that are feminine and functional...but probably not. Maybe by this time next year, we will have more schools with access to ATs and better working conditions in all settings. I hope that this next year, through deliberate efforts, I will have deeper relationships with my family and friends and I will resemble a more Godly wife.
Here goes nothing...
I think your 2015 Resolution sounds much more realistic!
ReplyDeleteYes, I learn from my mistakes....lol.
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