Ebbs and flows

Life can come at you in surges. A bit and then a lot.

Since landing at Fort Hood, there haven’t been too many people to hang with. I don’t know what the short circuit was, but there weren’t many people that shared my vibe. So, for the most part, the past two years have been pretty lonely.

It’s different here, though. I’m in a class with 20-some other people from my career field, all the same rank. It’s really nice to have people to chat with, go out and share a drink or two with. I’d forgotten how much I like to be around people.

Sure there’s Internet and work, but that’s pretty much it back in Texas. Here, there are people to be with and things to see and do. I’m enjoying my stay somewhere, for the first time in a while.

Which is why it would be good to land that instructor gig. I’d be working, again, with people of similar rank, age and career. And there’d be a lot to do, a lot of things to see. I’d be all about it.

So there was the drought for a while, followed by the onset of nourishing rain.

Not to be outdone, the searing heat of the Army is still around. There’s a LOT of classwork to be done during the course. And I’ll be out of contact next week, as we’re carted out to the field for a few days of “roughing it.” We were initially told that portion had been omitted from the curriculum, but they re-added it in the other day.

We bitched a bit, and the instructors laughed it off as whining. Not that we mind the no power, no water thing, but as a classmate of mine said, “We don’t need any more practice at being uncomfortable.” Most of us have just returned from Iraq or are gearing up to deploy again. Each of us are at units that have extended time in the field already planned. We were all looking forward to NOT being in the field, especially when this latest gig is just for it’s own sake. There’s no other reason to tromp out there.

So enjoyment comes and goes in ebbs and flows. There’s the sweet and bitter. One defines the other. I suppose it’s all in how you let it get to you. You can get mired in the drudgery of it all–dragged down bit by bit until you’re just a shell. Or, you can just shrug it off, sit in the rain and write a song or two in your head.

Who knows, this instructor thing might just happen. There’s a lot of paperwork I have to fight through. Remember the “Quest for Stripes” saga? Well, this one will easily be just as arduous and unnecessarily exasperating. I’ll spare you all the blow-by-blows of that struggle. The hard part of being accepted by the school itself is already through, now it’s just a matter of getting the Army to convince itself that I am needed in a place outside of Fort Hood. They like to lock us in for several years and several deployments.

Life shifts left, and then right. I suppose it’s like being on a ship, with all the constant rocking. I just need to get my sea legs.

I’m off to bed. I’ll talk to you all again before we ship out to the field next week. Have a good one!

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