Aaarrrrgghhh!

It has been an interesting few weeks here at the Minivann HQ. I've been in the process of applying for coaching jobs since the start of the year, but have not yet received any responses. The problem is that the college athletic websites update very infrequently during the off-season, so positions could be filled without my knowing. It is an odd feeling of hopefulness and hopelessness at the same time after sending in applications.

A little while back now I heard from a friend about an opening in Arizona. This has me hopeful for a number of reasons. For one, it is in Arizona. Arizona is home, even though we haven't lived there for about 15 years. The kids haven't really had a chance to really get to know their grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins like we really would like them to, so getting a job in Arizona would be very nice. It wouldn't be terribly close to a lot of family, but closer than it has been since we left all those years ago. Another reason we are excited is that we have been out of Utah for about a year and a half now, and we like not being in Utah. We think of Utah as home now, maybe more than Arizona, so it's not like that. Living in Utah is just a different experience. We enjoyed living there, but we have really enjoyed getting out and into a much more culturally diverse population. Arizona would help us stay in a more diverse population, even more so than this part of Ohio.

The Arizona job is also one that I'm really hopeful for because I see myself as having a very good chance at actually getting the job. The best I can figure, the job was not advertised anywhere but the school's own employment web site. All the other jobs I have been applying for are easy to find on the NCAA web site. Everyone who wants a coaching job will be checking there. I'm just a tiny fish in a very large ocean, but with the Arizona job, the body of water is significantly smaller. Then there is the whole thing about having the same alma mater as the head coach, and trivial stuff like having references that he knows and plays against on a more or less regular basis.

So with that in mind we've been making this a matter of fasting and prayer as a family. We feel pretty good about the whole idea. The best I can figure, I should have been called already for at least a phone interview or something. Nothing so far. I'm not going so far as to say that it is already ruled out, but we haven't heard anything yet.

At about this point I start to remind myself about how I always thought I was patient when I was growing up. I have since been adequately humbled and corrected in that naive assumption many times since. A part of me wonders if I am doomed to a lifetime of lessons on how lacking I am in the patience department.

So today, we are continuing on in our daily routine of nothing new but more monkey wrenches, and I go to check the NCAA website. The most recent posting is for my alma mater. I'm not going to go anywhere near saying that this means something, but aaarrrrgghhh! I like the idea of going back to Utah again, but in many ways it feels like it would be a step backwards. I like the idea more than the other half, but it makes me wonder if we are just incredibly stupid and missing something right in front of our eyes. Did we really need to go to Ohio for a couple years to just turn around and come right back (with a monstrous "if" I get that job)? I haven't got either the Arizona or the Utah job, but I almost feel like we need to make a choice between the two already.