What A Weekend

    Holymotherofgods I am tired. Tired to my marrow. So tired I had to rest and suckle a cup of coffee just to get the energy to crawl into the shower. What epic endurance race has left me in such a state? Not a race.  Not a run. Not an obstacle course event. It was a weekend at Firefighter Academy. And, ohmygods, what a weekend. Saturday were midterms, and I was nervous, knowing this weekend would be the deciding factor in being released to go on calls. My nerves did me well, I scored 99% on my written test, and felt good about the practicals. The day is now kind of a blur, we pulled so much hose, sprayed thousands of gallons of water, were given tasks to accomplish as a squad, and did them well. We pulled hose, restored hose to the engine, and pulled it again and again. At the end of the day we were all so jubilant to have survived midterms that we hung around the station house kitchen, eating, laughing, horsing around, scheming about future antics. I was so wired when I got home that even a delicious, hot, carb laden meal, could not simmer me down. What started as grooving to a little Sam Cooke quickly degenerated into Manic Dance Party For One, and I danced for nearly an hour. My soaring spirit kept me from sleep until nearly midnight.
    Today we were in Turnouts and SCBAs by 8:30am and pulling more hose. Today was all about the hose. We pulled every diameter we have available. We attacked hydrants, set master streams, and flowed thousands and thousands of gallons of water. Doing full evolutions from taking the hydrant, laying hose line, setting up the master stream, calling for water, and then letting the water flow. At one point it all dissolved into a water fight with 2-1/2" hose at about 100', until we were all drenched. I felt water pooling in my crotch and flowing freely into my boots. It was epic. Then we pulled more hose, restored hose, pulled hose, restored hose, over and over and over. Pulling hose is the fun part, we Practice How We Play, leaping from the truck, grabbing the tools of the trade, and getting shit done. Restoring the hose is hard damned work. A few minutes of fun followed by 20 to 30 minutes of restoring order. It was one of the best days I have ever had. I confess, by mid afternoon I was as tired as I have ever been. Muscle fatigued, bone weary, joint achingly tired. And yet there was more. We kept going. I forced myself to catch my second wind. I dug deep and found the energy to stay upright and going hard. We pulled hose and restored hose until 5:30.
    I have realized just how firefighting could easily consume one's life. There is so much to learn, so many opportunities for additional classes. I will be taking additional courses for water rescue, rappelling, search and rescue, Rapid Intervention Team. There will be training weekends, hopefully a Burn to Learn where we get a derelict house to burn to the ground while practicing our skills. This does not even take into account how often there will be emergency calls to respond to.
    As of this coming Wednesday I will be cleared to go on calls, receive my pager, and get the app for my phone that will text me details of calls coming from Norcon dispatch. I am just getting my toes wet at this point, soon though will come the full plunge. As I think over the weekend, and all the weekends of 2013 so far, I am boggled by the enormity of my undertaking. This is very likely to be the grandest adventure I could embark on, and it will be a lifetime adventure. This has already been 2012, The Year of Grand Adventures, and it has only just begun.