It's Been a Minute
Track Season, Schooling, and Baby Showers
My apologies. It's been a minute, but some significant updates in my life lately have affected my writing schedule. First, at the beginning of this year, I started school to earn a master's degree in counseling to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. It's a pursuit I'm really excited about. I plan to incorporate some of what I learn into TMMC. But for now, as you can imagine, all of this schooling is taking much of my extra writing time. Secondly, track season is in full swing andour athletes look as competitive as I've seen in our program in recent years. As their head coach and lover of competition, I'm compelled to give them every opportunity to succeed possible.
Lastly, and most importantly, my wife and I are about 10 weeks or so from welcoming our little one into this world. The associated tasks of preparing their room, taking birthing and care classes, reading books, and mentally, emotionally, and spiritually preparing for them is a labor of love all in itself. We even have a baby shower approaching this weekend! (I'll share our registry link below if you want to show some love.) As the day approaches, we grow with excitement and anticipation. We are waiting until birth for their gender.
Due to these massive changes, writing has taken a backseat. Still, I am preparing some thoughts and encouragement for the coming weeks. For now, as you head into your week, I want to leave you with this from Jason Wilson's most recent book, The Man The Moment Demands.
When asked how Wilson would define a man at McKelvey's Mental Wealth Expo in New York, he replied, "You can't" (Wilson, 2025, p. 13). He explained, "Once you've allowed someone else to define you, you can never be all you were created to be" (p. 13).
Though Wilson's book is geared towards "eradicating the societal norms, cultural expectations, and stereotypes that confine" (p. 13) men and the ideals of "masculinity," his assessment of who we allow to define all of us applies to everyone.
Where are you getting your ideas about who you're supposed to be? TikTok? Instagram? The news? Music? Movies? Influencers? If you can't see that what makes you special is you—not your accomplishments, achievements, or notoriety—you will never experience being all you were created to be. Your gift is all your emotions, abilities, quirks, ideas, dreams, and creativity. Your gift is not what you have or don't have compared to someone else. Your gift is your authentic self.
As my wife and I prepare to welcome our little one into this world, this is a truth I hope to instill in them every day. I don't just love them because of what they can do. I love them already because they are who they are—namely, because they are mine. If we can commit to wrapping ourselves in the identity of who we belong to and all our unique gifts we may be able to better walk in the purpose of who we are and what we do as coaches, athletes, workers, students, parents, and more.
Take some time to write down a definition of who you are. Consider your gifts, talents, emotions, dreams without comparing them to anything or anyone else.
One last note: As the old song says, "I ain't too proud to beg!" Except, I’m not begging. However, if you would like to participate in gifting our first baby with a gift, check out our registries below! Anything is much appreciated.