Dear Coach,
​    You don't know our son.  The season's over, our last game done...and the countless hours you've spent with your team have provided a winning season.
    For us though, it's more than that.
​    You see, what you don't know, is just how much he never wanted to play.  I'm sure you saw the signs, even from day one, but the reason why might surprise you.
​    When he was nine, he entered the world of recreational football.  We found what we thought was a great program, but based on weight and size, Christian was placed on an older team.  A team that had been together for a few years and had a coach that wanted one thing...to win. 
​     The foundation of our son's concept of sports - primarily football - was rooted in this man's theories and behavior towards his players and team.  The coach didn't want younger kids and he especially didn't want inexperience, so he targeted the weak, grabbing their face masks, screaming how they would never win a game with them on board.  He would line the older players up against the younger, yelling for them to hit the boys harder in hopes they would eventually quit. 
​     By the end of the first week, Christian was covered in bruises.  His shoulders, arms, thighs.  He began to shut down in the car each night on the way to practice and fight tears on the way home.  It fundamentally shaped the way he felt about the game.
​     Our boys have never played for that team again and between then and now, Christian's had much better experiences with football with some exceptional coaches to help repair the past.
     But then came you.
​     You were our introduction to a sports program at our school and I'll never forget one of the first things we heard you say.  You began with how this was middle school and you were here to teach the fundamentals of the game, as opposed to the fundamental need to win...but win you did. 
​     Game after game, following each victory, the approach you took with your players and your team began to change him.  The worry in our son began to fade and a trust started to form.  My husband and I became wide eyed as he volitionally prepared his uniform the night before his games and packed his practice clothes each week without complaint. 
​     We knew just how different things were around mid-season when we had something which would've prevented him from going to practice, when Christian bargained, stating he could work it out, but didn't want to miss.
​     He enjoyed football for the first time.  The environment you created.  The team you built and the genuine compassion for your players was felt, both by our son and by us.
​     The positive memories you've created will stay with him forever and as a parent, that's one of the greatest gifts on earth.
​     So, as I said...you don't know our son.  You don't know how he stands a little taller, smiles a little bigger and feels so much prouder to be a part of his school, his team, your team, and you'll never know how much that means to us. 
​     Thank you more than words, Coach.  He'll carry this year and you with him throughout his life.

     Okay.  We all know the basics.  Don't let your baby chew on the handle of a shopping cart.  Pull your toddler's binky away before it goes back in their mouth after falling on the public bathroom floor...beside the toilet...and now I will officially add...wash your child down before they eat cotton candy at the State Fair.  Any fair for that matter.
​     Our State Fair is happening right now and it's just about the most fun you could have spending seven thousand dollars in any one setting.  We try to visit every year and not only do we love seeing how much joy the kids have in running around playing games and riding rides, but we too, find ourselves grinning at the nostalgia of it all.  The food - sending wafts of glorious scents of popcorn and funnel cakes while you pass by the sounds and lights all around...dare I say it?  The germs. 
​     Of course you know they're there.  I've just never been one to let the worry of E.coli keep us from a good old fashioned day of fun.  That was, until this year.
​     We happened upon a tent set up with sinks and hand washing stations.  A man welcomed us in as we walked by, so I figured a random hand washing couldn't be that bad.  What's the worst that could happen?
​     He pulled us into a blackened tent after squirting what I thought was hand sanitizer into each of our hands.  "Rub 'em real good", he said.
​     This is about the time I shot my husband an awkward look, wondering what we'd just signed up for.
​     "Okay, kids." He smiled. "I'm gonna turn a magic light on and show you what pretend germs you have aaaaall over your hands."  Farmer Dan was starting to freak me out, and I questioned how hard it might be to knock him out while getting the kids away from there.
​    At that moment, a black light came on and all six of us were surprised as we looked down to see our hands, glowing in the dark.  The man seemed to revel in this discovery, then proceeded to push us out of the tent to the sink stations, instructing us to wash our hands.
​    I was beginning to see the value in our lab rat fair experiment, and elbowed my husband, saying it would actually be good to show the kids how important it was to wash their hands longer than the 1.3 nanoseconds they regularly do.
​    Sure enough, Farmer Dan reappeared and tunneled us back into an exit tent.  "Okay.  Ready kids?  I'm gonna turn the magic light on and see how well ya did.  If you washed yer hands good enough, all the glow germs will be gone."
    "Three, two, one..."
​     WHAT THE?!!!  I'm quite sure a small crowd outside our tent stepped back at the scream I let out.  Our kids were covered in magic germ juice.  COVERED.  Their hands had barely changed at all, still all glowy bright as fireflies, but now they had glow in the dark slime on their clothes, arms, skin...even their FACES.  HOW in THREE SECONDS, did they POSSIBLY manage to get their FACES?!
​     I had the incredible urge to push Dan out of the way, this time, going back into the wash stations to scrub all four kids down.  I never realized in all these years how even when I thought my kids were washing their hands, they were literally doing so very little, let alone smearing germ juice on their cheeks.
​     So, to our State Fair, I say thank you.  Thank you for totally FREAKING me out with the fact that my kids are walking cesspools, swimming in a sea of petri dishes in this thing called life.
​     We walked away a little wiser, a little glowy-er, and yes...after a little while later and another hand washing at the next opportunity...a little happier as we shared our annual bag of cotton candy, which I'm quite sure still glowed in the dark going down.     

    Before I had kids, one of my friends had two little boys.  I'll never forget, as they were wrestling on the floor, she turned to me raising her eyes, "I always try to remember, as crazy as they are...I'm not here to raise boys...my job is to raise men".
​    That struck me as odd while the older brother smacked the younger with a small yellow dump truck, but fast forward a few years, and I get it.
​    It was impossible to see at first.  Holding those newborn little bundles of sweetness wouldn't allow me to fathom the thought of them becoming men...but now?  Now, it's charging straight towards me like a freight train. 
​     What kind of men do I pray they'll become?  What characteristics do I hope to instill in this wild thing called, parenting?  The answers are simple and few, but far more valuable than gold.
     Loyalty.
​     To see how they interact and treat each other and their friends, is an indicator of how they'll be when they are grown.  To have hearts of loyalty, not turning their backs on friends no matter what, is a sign not only at this young age, but in life.  It teaches them how to treat others, as well as to find those few true friends, unwavering and who will last a lifetime. 
​     Protection.
​     To protect the ones you love, to no end.  Even in the midst of a WWF knock down drag out fight, making sure the other is okay, when things get a little too rough. 
​     To gather around their little sister, protecting her as she sits in fear before getting her ears pierced, comforting her and trying to get her to laugh through her tears.          

      Love.
​      To love in life.  With their whole heart...everything from family to snow days.  Especially snow days.  To live life with the love of adventure and compassion.  To see things bigger than themselves and be aware of their place in this world and how love can affect that. 
​      Faith.
​      To have a faith, undeterred.  To know they are given the love, loyalty and protection of a Father above, and to live each day for Him, being thankful for the life He's provided. 
​       It's still hard to imagine our boys as men, especially when I wonder how Adam and I will ever teach them how to iron a shirt, tie a tie or for the love of Moses, drive a car.  It'll all come in time though. 
​      For now, everyday brings new opportunities to create these future men, husbands and fathers with loyalty, protection, love and faith, I hope one day, they will in turn, provide.      

    It's been a little over a month with my new job and so many changes have come about.  Decorating my room for October gave me time to think about the transition.
    It's always hard to make the decision to shift careers or make a move from what you've known for so long.  In this case, I left the medical world of speech therapy with patients who've had strokes or trauma, to work in the schools, making it feel more like a whole different world rather than a job change.
      In the time I've gotten to know the staff and students, I can honestly say, it's been the best decision I ever could've made.  Everyday brings something new and the kids who range from kindergarten through fifth graders, bring laughter and fun to each and every hour. 
      Patient's charts and medical records have turned into high fives with nine year olds getting a sound they've struggled with for years.  Kids with fluency, hearing loss and frustration have become the center of my thoughts as I drive home, wondering how I can work things through even more the next day.
      I look forward to the months ahead and hope to change and develop their hearts and minds as much as they already have mine.  
      Now I know, as difficult as it can be to take that jump or leap in faith to make a change in your life, sometimes it can be a really good thing. 
      In this case, I'm thankful the opportunity came my way, and I wasn't afraid to leap, no matter how hard it was to try to learn a whole new way to fly.