I Love My Job

I love my life.  I love my wife.  I love my family.  I love my friends.

I love Benton's bacon, long bike rides, and hikes with my wife.  I love to cook, travel, and lots of different kinds of music.  I love working in my yard but can't find room in my heart for loving that dadgum weedeater.

I love to be a part of the solution to problems.  I love seeing others succeed, enabling them to reach their dreams.

I love my job.  I actually look forward to getting to work in the mornings.  I also look forward to getting home in the evenings (maybe that's the life/work balance thing).

In my clinic, people come see me to get better, to get healthy again.  What a privilege!  People trust me with their health.  How awesome is that!

I love high school football.  I've been involved with the game of football in one fashion or another since I was in the 4th grade.  I was 9 and most of the player on the team were 12 or 13.  Didn't matter.  I loved it.

My first game on the sidelines here was 1982 at Maryville High School.  Since then I've been on everybody's sideline at one time or another.  I love all our schools.

In the afternoons this time of year, I leave work early and head to Maryville High School where I am the Athletic Trainer for the football and baseball teams.  Jennifer Stanley covers all the other MHS sports.  We have eight  other athletic trainers that do the exact same thing. 

Peggy Bratt at Alcoa, David Ivens at Greenback, Amanda Cagle at Heritage, Beth Emeterio at Maryville Christian School, Cindy Ellis at Sequoyah, Shawn Davies at Sweetwater, and Sarah Tate and Tracy Martin at William Blount. Grant Davis helps out wherever he is needed.

I think I can speak for all of them when I tell you that we love what we do.  We couldn't tolerate the long hours if we didn't.

Think about it.  We get to be a part of a team.  We get to experience the excitement of competition.  We make lifelong friendships with coaches, parents, and kids.  And we get the opportunity to be a positive influence in the lives of those same kids.

Then there's Friday night.  Oh how I love Friday night football games.  By game time, we have all spent a lot of time together.  Tough time.  Maybe dealt with some injuries.  Battled through the blood, sweat, and tears.

I love all my kids but I must admit, I do love some of them more.  I love the ones that have further to go and get there.  Who discover through hard work that they can achieve their goals.  The ones that maybe somebody else gave up on yet they didn't give up on themselves.  I hope I'm the one there to pat them on the back and encourage them along the way.  I might have been that kid long ago.

I love to watch coaches coach.  They put so much of themselves in that process.  Their one common goal is to help every player on their team be the best that they can be.  The best coaches don't yell as much as teach. 

I get to walk the sidelines, listen in on the coaching and the strategies, and watch these young people that I've grown close to finally get to play a game they obviously love.  And maybe have some small part in the team's success.

What set me off down this path?  Charlottesville, Virginia.  I believe in the power of love.  I don't want another day go by without showing love to others.  What about you?