COACHING OUT OF BOUNDS: Blog Hiatus is Over/ Memories from France summer 2010

My hiatus from the blog has come to a close and I will be posting 3-4 times a week now that things have begun to settle down here at home. Some of you might be wondering what I have been doing over the past 6 weeks since I returned home from coaching in Finland during the summer of 2010. The main issue that has garnered my attention during this time is dealing with a stomach ailment that has been wreaking some havoc in my life over the past 3 months or so. I have had many tests done including gall bladder scans, abdominal ultrasounds, and a colonoscopy. Overall, the tests seem to have cleared me of any major problems and I have started to improve over the past few weeks.

I have spent the rest of my time catching up on things around the house, reconnecting with family and friends, and even helping coach Kodie's youth football team. I am registered to begin substitute teaching again, so I will be resuming that as well. I have been applying for some teaching and government positions over the last month, but I have yet to hear anything. My main job at this time is serving as a part-time instructor for Trinity, the college in North Dakota where I taught and coached for six years. Basically, I teach an online/distance education course in Sports Psychology. It doesn't pay much, but it keeps me in the loop until I figure out the next step in life. As far as the future is concerned, I would love to return to Europe. However, the only way I see that happening is if a team is willing to bring me on full-time to coach or help me get set up with a job in the community to supplement my earnings. The situation would have to be right and my family's contentment is the most important factor in that type of scenario. Besides teaching, I may look to see what college coaching opportunities might be there once the season ends in a few months.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy this "time out" in life that allows me the opportunity to hang out with my family, and continue to pursue my freelance writing aspirations. I feel blessed to have this chance to do some serious reflection and really "smell the roses" in everyday life. Yesterday, while out at a local farm and Pumpkin Patch with my youngest daughter and her classmates, I caught myself staring at an old maple tree for what must have been close to five minutes. The old maple was bursting with color as fall has descended upon her. The venerable tree reminded me of my youth and the many tree house cabins that I used to build high above the ground. It was nice to have a few moments to just marvel at God's creation and recognize all the detail within the structure of the large tree. The experience also made me think back to the time I spent in Finland over the past two years and all the beautiful trees that dominate the landscape.

Before I close for today, I wanted to post a few more pics from the time we spent in France this past summer. Maybe, it was my desire to write about some of my moments of reflection that triggered me to think of France during my discussion. The country is currently coping with unrest and massive work stoppages and worker strikes because 70% of the population is upset with the government. What is the reason you might ask? France is coming apart at the seams because it looks as if the country might be raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 years of age. I remember the outrage there a few years ago over the "mind boggling" 35 hour work week. Kind of ironic, isn't it? Seventy percent of our citizens are angry at the government and ready to vote the democrats out because we want more work and the French are rioting because they want to work less. It probably isn't hard to guess what side of the coin I would argue for. I have a theory that much of the "mess" that we see in America today like corporate greed, rampant violence, poor school performance, and a crumbling family unit characterized by high divorce rates and single parent homes, is largely rooted in our love affair with this high production/high consumption mentality. The love affair with working our knuckles to the bone places way more emphasis on the external and leaves little in the form of time to focus and reflect on the internal. Simply put, we are a shallow nation with a very thin veil of understanding regarding the world around us. Ask the average 15 year old in America about the latest P. Diddy song, the newest release of Grand Theft Auto, or who Paris Hilton is dating, and they are likely to score fairly well. If you ask that same young person to find England on a map or name the Vice President of the United States, the scores are likely to be less impressive. The truth is we must find a way to give more quality time and direction to ourselves and our future generations. This theory and 90 cents will probably only buy me a cup of coffee, but I do believe in the importance of taking more time for personal reflection. It may not be great for the pocketbook, but it does wonders for the soul. With that being said, it is time for some pics.

A la Ferme--- Also known as a working farm and one of our lodging destinations during our stay in France. This 17th century stone house is located near Pontorson, a quaint village that is worth a visit.