I tweeted out yesterday that if I ever wrote a book it would be titled, "Being Under The Radar in an Over The Top World".
To me, "over the top" is excess hype or excitement, always making things better than what they are or even purposedly distorting or embellishing a truth to gain attention or favor.
For example, in one of my worlds - promoting Texas private and parochial high school athletics, there are two Twitter handles that share information - which I might add is not bad - who are basically anonymous and won't identify who they are. I just don't understand why people feel like they need to hide.
One is for a mainstream sport (i.e. the big four); the other is for a sport that high school championships are competed for.
In both cases, I think it is a coach in those respective sports. Look, I agree with promoting your sport and doing everything for your school and kids, but just post a "full disclaimer" of what your relationship is to what you're doing.
Another world that I've dabbled in over the years is road racing - 5K's, 10K's, half marathons, etc., announcing them and having general knowledge of the people, the organizations and the entities in the overall endurance sports communities.
I really don't even "keep up" any more, but there's enough over the last few years that has left me on my last leg and that's not necessarily bad.
I have been on the "heavy lifters" e-mail list of a particular organization for the last many years, but today I asked to be removed from it. I don't participate in that organization's meetings - largely because of the time and location and the inability to participate virtually; therefore, why continue to be a bump on the electronic log.
If somebody needs me - and some still do, people know where to find me.
I had a race that was being organized for the second Saturday in November in town and a former Texas private and parochial high school and NAIA collegiate basketball coach - and friend of mine - was organizing it and sought some opinions on where I thought they were at. (I think they're on the right track.) That is the kind of respect that I value and appreciate.
All of these thoughts came out of a few day spell of physically not feeling so well, but it also tapped into my emotional well being.
I sat my incredible daughter down on Sunday to just let her know that I was struggling a little bit. I told her not to worry about anything, but to just be aware.
She's just what I said, "incredible". She's doing a tremendous job of where's she teaching this year with an incredible amount of support from her administration. Just in the last week she shared some situations where she incredible affirmation that she was doing well -- and that her writing skills were off the chart. (That made me really proud. I like to think that I helped set some of that groundwork over the years.)
Really excited about her upcoming marathon at the end of the month. While I'll miss finish line announcing one of the largest races that I've ever done, I would have felt like I missed out what I'm sure is going to be a monumental day.
If you stumble across this, please keep me in your prayers.
Work is really stretching me. I'm in a place that I'm not comfortable with what I'm being asked to do - and my manager knows this. It wouldn't be stunning for them to read that. Yet they still have confidence in me and I'm grateful for that.
I even shared with somebody that grew up in the church of my youth who is now a pastor in Missouri and was sharing with him of one of the spaces that I am in and he said that he's been in a similar space and to ask God to show me the next step.
That's what I'm trying to do.
