Don't forget to be awesome...

Brief update: I’m the assistant volleyball coach this year. I coached at my previous high school for six year, but I didn’t know what I was doing because I didn’t ever play volleyball. I inherited the team because I knew the girls. I agreed to coach this year if they found a head coach who had actually played the sport and knew what they were talking about. They did, she’s phenomenal, and I’ve learned so much from her already. We had very similar coaching styles, so we’ve already built an incredible team from where they were.

As is to be expected, last week we were made aware of a potential situation between three of our players as we walked into a scrimmage. Since we have a zero tolerance policy for bullying, we chose to address the issue and speak with the players in question. After talking to each of them individually, the player who was reported to be the victim assured us that there wasn’t a problem. We decided to continue as planned instead of benching the player who was being accused. At that point, we thought the issue was handled.

Thursday afternoon, half an hour before practice, we got a lengthy email from the mother of the reporting players that left us dumbfounded and frustrated. Honestly, I was furious. The girls had played an amazing game together the previous night. JV had won a scrimmage that they weren’t even prepared to play. Varsity had a tough loss 23-25, 23-25, 20-25, but they’d shown true grit. There was no sign of animosity on the court. So, we were truly baffled.

Both myself and the head coach have reached out to set up a meeting with this parent three separate times and have not received a reply. I do not like confrontation, but I also don’t like to leave things unresolved. So, I messaged the athletic director to update him on the steps we’d taken. Here’s his response:

In my eyes, you both have followed the protocol I would have suggested. If she chooses not to respond, it changes things from a concern to a complaint. People typically want to work towards a solution regarding a concern. This seems like I don’t like how you did something and I’m just going to tell you about it. I think we all know what a “bully” really looks like. This is not that. The energy and vibe that you have created is so far from the toxicity that truly did exist here that I’m more angry than anything that she had felt it necessary to reach out regarding what I’d view as friends or teammates pushing each other’s buttons. Please don’t let this one complaint diminish all the good you’ve done for these girls. Enjoy this last little gasp of a break bc now it’s game week 😤😤🤩

Anyway, I realize a bit ago that two years ago Harvey fell and broke his back. He was just a year clean, and we were a few weeks into quarantine. My brother had finally arrived home from being trapped in India and within minutes of hearing he was safe, Harvey sent me the same message six times.

He’d fallen. His hard hat was cracked. He was going to the hospital.

I made him send me his boss’s contact information because I wasn’t sure he was coherent enough to refuse pain killers.

He actually told the nurse he was allergic and he would come down with a bad case of addiction. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I couldn’t go into the hospital. I had to wait in the parking lot.

So we came back to the house. It rained most of the day, so we took a break to rest - napping off and on. Then around 530pm I was getting restless, so we did this...

And spent from 6pm until 2am loading it up. We still have our tv and the couches to load today, and I haven’t slept at all. I’m very anxious about the couches fitting into the camper, still. Also, being able to unload everything and return the Uhaul by 6pm, but we will have help and won’t be unpacking as we unload.

I’m a ball of nerves. I’ve only lived in this house or my parents’ house. Dorms and college apartments don’t count for me because I always went back to my parents’. It’s emotional and a big change. I’m excited, too. We will have our place together instead of my place where we live.

We are so close yet so far from being completely out of the house and into the camper. I have almost the whole house packed except for half of the kitchen, the bathrooms and whatever is in the laundry. We still have our big furniture to move, and I haven’t even thought about the basement.

I have a few concerns with what remains of the move:

1. We believe that two parts of our sectional will fit in the camper, but how will it fit INTO the camper? I’m not sure the entry is wide enough, and there is an island that could cause a problem. We also have to get the current sleeper love seat out of the camper and dispose of it.

2. Harvey has a plan for a dog pen behind the camper for the two big dogs to stay in while we’re at work, but it involves getting a load of stone and constructing a structure using remnants from a previous kennel. We can’t move in until they have a place to stay since I went back to work today.

3. We don’t have anywhere to store our current king size bed frame and memory foam mattress.

4. I handle all the finances, so I need to set up an agreement with my in-laws for the electric bill and my sister in law for water bill. Neither of them like to discuss money with me, and still aren’t used to H being able to pay his way. 😑 I refuse to avoid it and then have a conflict later on, so they will need to get over that. I have a very strict bill payment schedule which will need to include those payments. A tough conversation is about to go down in the next few days.

5. It’s supposed to storm all day Saturday. We don’t have a covered trailer. Our tenants move in on Tuesday.

6. I’ve already pissed off my mother in law because I didn’t come inside and eat dinner tonight because I was unpacking and organizing what I’d already taken over in order to reuse the boxes for more stuff at the house.

7. I’m exhausted and my whole body is sore from lifting boxes and moving furniture.

Some good parts of the move/life:

1. I have thrown out and/or donated a ton of clothes, shoes, books, housewares and random old junk that I forgot I was hanging onto.

2. I sold my vanity for $70 to a friend who repurposes furniture. She’s going to redo it for her step daughter. We also have three TVs that we need to sell so we can buy a smart tv that will fit in the camper.

3. Harvey’s personal truck was hit while parked on the street during the hurricane at the beginning of the month. It was totaled, but the insurance company is giving us a substantial pay off. This is amazing considering we didn’t think we’d get more than a grand for it.

4. Though today was the first official day back to work, I actually get to go into the school tomorrow and get reacquainted with my classroom.

5. The camper is starting to feel homey and comfortable with all our pictures and personal touches placed about.

6. The relationship with my sister in law is growing closer and she’s been a huge help with the move.

7. I will be 10 minutes from work instead of 30 once we’re settled.

8. We will be saving a good bit of money by living in the camper. Since neither of us can get a loan, we’ll need to pinch pennies to get enough to start construction on our house. We’re going to buy a pole building and then finish the inside ourselves. That is the light at the end of a strange tunnel, and while I have no idea how long we’ll be living in the camper, I’m looking forward to the adventure.

Enjoy this video of Harvey moving the camper with a skid steer since you read through all my ramblings.

My school district is starting the year with virtual learning which is a huge relief. The high school, where I teach, will be virtual for the first marking period, and we will teach from our classrooms. This is great because it gives me a schedule to follow and a place other than my couch to work from. Teacher days start on Thursday.

Our trip to Colorado was amazing and exactly what we needed. We hiked and rafted and ziplined, but we also laughed and sang and chatted. It was extremely beneficial to just be together. I’ve been feeling very distant since quarantine started because his job didn’t change at all and mine basically stalled. So having the time to reconnect was perfect.

Since we’ve been back, the process of moving has begun. We’re working on getting the camper ready to live in while our house is being built. I have thrown away and donated a lot of stuff that’s been sitting around the house for years. I am trying to get as much done here that I can, but it’s starting to get to the point that I need help to move forward. I can’t move furniture alone or go through his clothes without him. I already donated some pants that I shouldn’t have, but shhh 🤫 don’t tell him. He needed new ones anyway. We have renters set up to take over the current house on Sept 1, but I feel like there’s so much to do before then. We also have furniture that we aren’t sure where we’ll store, so that’s a roadblock as well.