Hillari Hunter
Bio
I likes to write about many topics. In a past life, I was an unappreciated office support employee, and I was a boxing coach. I have sung in church choirs and in nightclubs. I'm speaking up and out more and using my age as an excuse.
Stories (17)
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That April Day
It was a spring day in April, a Thursday and I was in first grade. My younger sister was four years old her birthday having taken place the previous month. My youngest brother was two years old. I was six years old, and the only one going to school. Suddenly I looked up to see my mother, who was in her mid-thirties then, walk into the class. She and my teacher huddled in a corner talking. The teacher gave me a look, and my heart sank. I thought I was in trouble – again. I was a good student, but my math grades kept bringing me down. The teacher gave Ma some papers, it was homework I learned later, to take home. Ma told me to get my coat. I was going home early that day.
By Hillari Hunter6 years ago in The Swamp
A Sport That Needs to Be Clean
Professional boxing has often had the reputation of being a dirty sport. Movies like Requiem For A Heavyweight (1962) and The Harder They Fall (1956) have depicted questionable practices in the sport. They were not far off the mark. Unfortunately, some amateur boxing programs are guilty of indulging in the same practices. This should not be so.
By Hillari Hunter7 years ago in Unbalanced
No Love for Ex-Bosses
Several months had passed since I was laid off from my job as an administrative assistant. A former co-worker who was still employed at the company asked if I kept in contact with my ex-boss, Martin (not his real name). “No,” I said, before changing the subject. Why would I bother to keep ties with a man who obviously didn’t give a damn about how I was going to survive after his actions?
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Journal
Checking the Volunteers
The volunteer in the amateur boxing class I coach admonished one of the kids for not having their mouthpiece in properly during a sparring session. Later, their parent came to me concerned that the volunteer had been too harsh on their kid. I thought everything was smoothed out after our conversation. The next day when I came to work, my supervisor told me the parent had contacted them hours earlier to complain about the volunteer. I was told in so many words that I needed to keep the volunteer in check.
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Journal
When Age Is a Problem at Work. Top Story - May 2018.
A friend of mine had finally gotten into a comfortable groove with her boss who was an executive at the company where she worked. The both of them were close in age and had an understanding of how each other worked. Her boss retired and was quickly replaced by a man a couple of decades younger. Rumors rumbled that middle-aged and senior employees may be let go. My friend didn’t believe what she was hearing. Many of the co-workers, including herself, had been with the company for several years. Surely their experience and longevity would mean something. Then the new boss appeared to not warm up to her, and her co-workers were laid-off. She was one of the last to be let go.
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Journal
What a Youth Amateur Boxing Coach Doesn't Want to Hear
1. “My kid can’t attend each practice (or show up on time) because they have other activities going on.” Seriously? Boxing, like any other sport, requires regular practice. I can’t put anyone in a boxing match if they’re not regularly training for one. The first rule in amateur boxing is safety. The training routine I have planned is based on the days the gym is open, not on when kids have time between art classes, football, swimming, and whatever else they are doing.
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Unbalanced
Downsides of Dating Baby's Daddy
There was baby’s mama drama surrounding a guy I dated years before. My ex-boyfriend had kids by an ex-wife as well as an ex-girlfriend. I had known several women whose lives had been inconvenienced by the constant wrath of the moms their boyfriends or husbands had left behind. Fortunately, the only issues I had to deal with were minor. But after that relationship ended, I avoided men with children, because usually there was a resentful mom in the picture. My temperament was not going to tolerate interference from a woman who refused to recognize the need to move on from the man I was currently seeing. Nor was I going to put up with disrespect out of a man’s children.
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Families
Being a Planner Girl for Less
After my umpteenth trip up to an arts and craft store to buy planner supplies, I realized that I had become a planner girl. I also realized that I was throwing my budget off balance. Depending on the brand and other features, the planners themselves can be a huge cost. Add in the accessories, and there goes money flying out of the wallet. However, there are ways to indulge this hobby like the numerous planner girls who have channels on YouTube without breaking the bank.
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Lifehack
Not the Mama
I was a stepdaughter twice, courtesy of my father who kept rushing to get married and apparently had a problem with being single and alone for long periods of time. Being a stepdaughter under the third wife was problematic. It was the same with the next stepmother, but eventually, our relationship became better. Dad and my stepmothers have now passed on. From the perspective of a stepchild, I think any woman who plans on marrying a man with kids should consider some things.
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Families
Navigating the High School Reunion
1. Stop worrying about your looks. Everyone has aged unless there is a picture of Dorian Gray in a secret room in their homes. There will be plenty of wrinkles, love handles, and gray hairs on display. Dress your best and go.
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Education
Half-Sibling and Full Trouble
As my oldest half-sister passed me on the way out of probate court, she hissed to me that she wished I was in a coma. Our stepmother lay in a coma in a nursing facility, the result of an accident she would never recover from. My half-sister was trying to take advantage of the situation by making a bid to grab whatever she thought my father had left behind when he passed on years ago. She made sure that neither the judge, her lawyer, or our stepmother’s lawyer could hear her comment to me. I did not reply. It was the first time we had seen each other since our father had passed on twelve years earlier.
By Hillari Hunter8 years ago in Families
