Wow! It’s been a long time since I last took the time to write a blog post. There was a time when I was churning these out once or twice a week. Maybe I’ve gotten too busy, or perhaps, having had to write so many other things, I just stopped doing it. I’ve mentioned before that I thank my mother for my love of writing. She always encouraged me to write when I was young, but she soon found that she didn’t have to push me anymore because I simply enjoyed it so much. So much has happened since my last blog post in 2021. There have been many ups and downs, lots of new adventures, and I’ve learned so much. I guess I’ll start with the new adventure I have fallen in love with – my love for whitewater rafting. I have always had an adventurous side to me but hadn’t always tapped into it. I also felt that I didn’t have many friends who enjoyed some of the things I do. Well, that has changed, and I feel I am hooked on whitewater rafting. I started small, like most people, and then ventured into more intense IV and V rapids in West Virginia. What a rush! I have decided that I will always try to find time to go whitewater rafting in different areas of our country, as well as abroad.

I can’t forget that I was named superintendent of a school district back in the spring of 2022. Boy, was that a fast and furious time in my life. It has been super exciting and incredibly challenging. It’s a job that I always wanted, just one of those things that you aren’t sure you’ll ever get a chance to experience. I landed the job in a place that I called home several years ago, and it truly felt like a homecoming. The love and support I received when I came back to the community were amazing, and I am forever grateful. I have always felt that I am a student of leadership, and I will tell you, I have learned a lot about leadership, leading people, and working alongside a school board. That is the part that I just didn’t know much about. Sure, I went to school to be a superintendent, attended all the aspiring superintendent workshops I could find, and had great mentors helping me along the way. But it’s one of those things that you don’t really understand until you’re in it. I always brag about our school board because we have a good one. They really care about our students and staff, and they love their community. But I was still unsure as to how this new relationship would work. There didn’t seem to be a clear-cut manual, and every superintendent works with their school board a little differently. I found the key is to get to know them, embrace training together, and commit to working through things. Of course, getting the superintendent job meant moving from the DFW area, where I lived for many years. It was also a very abrupt change, but I adapted well. I have been here going on two years now, and it has been a good fit. I tell people all the time that I’m just a country superintendent working hard to bring about transformation and loving every bit of it. The job is not without its challenges. We have so much work to do to improve student outcomes, culture, our facilities, and many other things. The great thing is the students, staff, and community have worked hard to work with me through all of the updates and things we need to do to move forward.

As positive as I like to be, 2023 also brought about an unexpected change. My dad got sick. I can still hear him calling me in May telling me some things his doctor said. I was standing outside of our administration building, listening and thinking, “This doesn’t sound good.” I could also hear the worry in his voice. As he kept going to the doctor, and I started going with him, the news just kept getting worse. We quickly found out that my dad had cancer, and it wasn’t a cancer that offered much hope. I can remember our drive home after the doctor told us it was stage 4 and that there wasn’t much we could do. I can hear my dad saying, “Son, it’s going to be ok. The good Lord will see us through this.” Of course, I was trying to be strong for him. I was thinking to myself, what will I do, what do I tell my sisters? At this point, he was already getting weaker, and maybe you didn’t know this, but we also had a small cattle ranch. My dad quickly became too tired and sick to take care of his cows anymore. I had to take this on. So, I immediately went back to all the training he taught me when I was younger. I took care of the farm for several months until we sold the cows. My dad passed away in October, and it was tough. I am a pretty tough guy with a tough exterior, and I’ve always felt like I’ve had to be tough as a leader, but I had a hard time. I try not to show it a lot, but I miss my dad a lot. Just one of those voids that I know I’ll never fill. He’s with my mom now, so I know he’s at peace.

Finally, back to my adventures. I want to find more places to go whitewater rafting, and I’ve been to so many cool places in between. I even got to go to New Zealand, a place that I have wanted to visit since I was a child. The scenery was breathtaking. As I’m writing, I am thinking about where I want my next adventure to be. Between my sister and some of my friends, we always have something up our sleeve. I plan to write more here and to keep you up to date on a few things. For now, Christmas is coming, and I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas.