Thursday, December 27, 2018

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself

So, prior to last week's blog (no, these won't necessarily be weekly, but I'm going to try to have at least a couple per month), I hadn't posted on this blog in over five years. I was about to get married. It's wild to think that far back, in a way.

Now, I sit here at twenty to seven in the morning at my family condo in Grand Lake, Colorado with three generations of Peteranetzes. My dad is sitting in his traditional recliner up here, my wife is playing with my son, and my mom is still asleep. We're watching the Weather Channel as they track Winter Storm Eboni (Things I hate: That we now name winter storms).

While I realize that most who follow this blog are people that I know, people who started following it when I moved to Nebraska in 2011 and wanted updates about my life, I know there are also people who are following because of my writing for cornnation.com. I'm guessing a few of you will just stumble upon it as you're scouring the internet for... something? I'm glad you're all here, and it struck me that now's probably a great time to introduce all of you to me.

As mentioned earlier, I'm a married man with a son. My wife is Dr. Markeya Peteranetz. She earned a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My son, Everett, is a year old. As it stands right now he's begun to walk and points at things and says what we think is "That!"

I am a fourth grade teacher and volleyball coach. I teach and coach for Dorchester Public School in Dorchester, Nebraska, a town of about 600 people 30 miles west-southwest of Lincoln. I've been teaching since 2007 and started coaching volleyball when I was in college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I think that was 2002. It might've been '01, though.

I was born and raised in Colorado. I grew up in what I, at the time, considered a small town, Lafayette. Lafayette, as my dad describes it, is 20 miles north of Denver. Specifically, it's on the eastern side of Boulder County. Husker fans, I grew up 10 miles due east of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

This is not going to be some long autobiographical post. I will tell stories from my life on this site going forward, mixed in with other thoughts on politics, sports, weather, science, and likely dozens of other things that I am in no way qualified to write about.

Many friends of mine would likely have told you that I am the epitome of a Colorado kid (Yes, I turn 38 on Saturday. Kid is probably not an apt description any more, but I DON'T CARE!). I love the mountains and everything that seems ingrained as part of the Colorado lifestyle, being outside. In fact, I still identify as a Coloradoan, though I'm also a proud Nebraskan.

I've been a Husker fan as long as I can remember. My Uncle Dave was determined to convert either me or my brother, Jay. Depending on your perspective I'm either the weak-minded one or the smart one. I know I was a Husker fan before the 1994 Football National Title. I also know I was a Buffs fan when they won the 1991 Football National Title.

Fast forward to how I ended up living in Lincoln, Nebraska. The opportunity came to coach collegiate volleyball at the College of St. Mary in Omaha. I thought that coaching at the college level was a dream of mine (Narrator: It was, sort of). However, I missed teaching desperately and wanted to get back to it.

By that time, I'd met the woman who would become my wife. Friends had joked that I'd meet her within six months of moving to Nebraska since I was such a Husker fan. They were right. We met within three months. She was going to get that PhD I mentioned earlier from UNL, so I pursued jobs in Lincoln.

In my time in Dorchester, in particular, I've learned more about agriculture than I'd ever thought I'd learn. I can confidently talk about how rain affects both harvest and planting. I never knew I'd be able to discuss things like irrigation and field size. I don't feel like I need to leave the room when people start discussing these things.

I married a woman who's into fitness, and I don't mean the stupid "fitness whole pizza into my mouth." I now enjoy running and lifting. I like fitness, too.

I've often said volleyball brought me everything that's good in my life. It's true. I met Keya at a volleyball camp. My job at Dorchester is due in no small part to volleyball. My closest friends in Lincoln are thanks to volleyball. I moved to Nebraska in the first place because of volleyball.

I will try to keep updating this regularly. Hopefully this gives you a little better idea of who I am as you read this. Thank you for reading this piece. It'd be great if you like it and share it with friends. Yes, it's a shameless plug, but please follow me on Twitter (@coach_ty6) and Instagram (@coachty6). Posts here, and on social media will be all over the place, but if you've liked what I've written so far, I think you'll enjoy that.

Thank you!

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