News (from the one left behind)

Hi Everyone!

This is Dela's husband, David, writing. I don't have much in the way of news yet, but thought I'd share with you what I do have.

As you know, Dela left Monday night for the hotel. She didn't sleep much and had to get up at 0400 Tuesday for processing. She didn't make tape, so they had her do a step test and pushups. She sailed through those and they passed her. (There were several others who had to do the same thing. Among them were a couple of 18-year-old girls who did not pass.)

She and the other recruits spent all day Monday at the Atlanta airport waiting for the bus to take them to Fort Jackson (hereafter referred to as FJ). For whatever reason, they pet her in charge of all the other FJ recruits. She had to keep their paperwork and keep track of them all.

Around 2000 (8:00pm) they finally got underway. After four hours of driving, they arrived at FJ. Evidently they were kept busy all night and not allowed to sleep. At some point yesterday morning, the recruits were asked, "Who here has four children?" Only Dela raised her hand. "Good. You're in charge!" So again she was put in charge of the recruits, though I'm not exactly sure what that means. She was able to sleep for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. The last time I spoke with her was just before 2100 hours last night. It was almost lights out and we only had a couple of minutes to talk. She was very tired but her spirits were high!

We've been able to talk a little here and there because they let the recruits keep their cell phones during induction/processing. No doubt that will end very soon, if it hasn't already. I haven't heard from her today.

When I have more news, I'll post it here for everyone to see. And as soon as I have her official mailing address, I'll post that as well.

Thanks to everyone for your constant love and support for Dela. Your encouragement has meant more to her than she can express. You're all truly a blessing!

David

P.S. The new picture above is one that was taken at the reccruiter's office a couple of weeks ago. Her hair is MUCH shorter now...

Like Summer Camp...

...Only with lots of screaming.

While working at Honda there was a young woman who would come into the office a couple times a week to have lunch with her mom. She always had something Army on. I asked her if she was in the Army - yes, she was. She completed Basic Training and started her job training when they found a tumor in her brain. She has been under treatment ever since with varying degrees of success. She now has ambitious plans - to be married, to have children, to live a full life. I pray she does these things. Mostly she just wants to be back in the Army. I pray she attains her goals.

I asked her about basic training once... she said, "It was great fun, like summer camp, only there was a lot of screaming." I was not sure if she meant that the drill sergeants were screaming, or the recruits were screaming... but for some reason I tend to think it was the latter.

I am sitting here tonight with my stomach in knots and my chest feels like I am toting around a hundred pound weight. The weight is representative of the responsibility I feel in making it through this training. There are so many people praying for me, rooting for me, encouraging me and they have so much confidence in me. I will have to complete so many tasks over the next five months, physically and mentally. I really don't want to let anyone down.

This journey has the potential to set my husband and me on the path to a debt free existence. We would like to get to the point of actually progressing financially - rather than just surviving as we have always done in the past. It is important to us to have something to pass down to our children and grand children.

A summer camp would be nice... on a lake, in the mountains,.. one without any screaming...

Fitness Findings

I have spent the better part of the last 20 years raising 4 kids, tending house and holding down various jobs. Mostly it was a couch potato existence with a few stints of spelunking (caving) and a few "I've got to lose some of this weight" diet attempts. Nothing. I mean nothing up to this time in my life led me to believe I would be preparing to enter into Army Basic Training at the ripe ol' age of 40.

For the last year and a half I have tried every diet program imaginable. I have had some success, overall I have lost oh, about 35 lbs, the last 10 of which I have repeatedly lost over the past 6 months. It never stays off completely. The problem is I want it off yesterday and I get tired of eating healthy... I love food. Honestly there were times when I thought that all I had to do was look at food and I would gain weight. Truly.

The other half of the problem is that while I am a woman - I build muscle like a man. I think my dad actually cursed me when he wished I was a boy...

I have tried just about every exercise regimen available. All of which helped me to put on more weight, rather than take it off. I have repeatedly told trainer after trainer the problem and I have repeatedly been assured that "their program will help rid those pounds for good!"

HA. I am proof that you can be a super freak in the exercise department and still GAIN weight.

Now I know what you are saying... "you are building muscle (yay!) and so of course you are gaining weight! But you ARE losing inches right?" Well, sorta. My nice addition of muscle, while very exciting and great for the burning of calories... has actually forced my fat to push further out and has INCREASED my measurements in my waist and hips while simultaneously reducing the size of my neck. Nice.

There is a reason this is not good.

For those of you who don't know much about Army Standards, I will give a brief explanation of them. While the Army does have a weight chart they use (which streamlines the process for many recruits) they also allow for BMI or Body Mass Index. In my case, being female, they will measure my neck, waist and hips. This coupled with my height and weight in some crazy algebraic formula is supposed to compute my BMI. As a 40 year old female I am allowed a fat percentage of 36.

My neck measurement needs to be higher to help offset the waist and hip measurements. All my life I have had a small neck. I haven't had a tiny waist since my first child and I have never had small hips. That being said - I now measure out at 37% BMI. A mere 1% over what I need to be to ship out next week.

*insert the sound of extreme frustration here*

My fitness finding is this:

It matters not what size you are. It matters not what type of exercise you do or what diet you follow. Your body will do what it wants. It will find a way to stay at the status quo. Because that is what it is used to. I spent 20 years in more or less the same condition. My body does not want to let go. It does not want to change...

What I need to do is change its perspective. I need to convince it that it wants to be more lean, that it wants to do all those crazy obstacles at Ft Jackson and that it will enjoy it. I must convince it that this is for its own good.

Fitness is a matter of perspective... because my 22 year old daughter and I found out in kickboxing class that we were pretty much in the same shape. And she is at least 50 lbs lighter than I am.

:o)

You Must Do The Thing You Think You Cannot Do

My Mom recently quoted Eleanor Roosevelt:

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do. "

Mom reminded me that us Lougee women, five generations back, have weathered many, many, many emotional and physical storms. Whether we married young, had children young, had miscarriages, suffered physical ailments, lost loved ones through divorce and/or through death, whatever the case, we have not only weathered it, we have often been able to rise above it.

We are survivors.

I take this reminder with me now on a daily basis as I prepare for one of the most challenging periods in my life. This challenge comes, not from outside, which would be far easier for me to deal with, but from inside. I will have to reach far down inside of myself to find the strength and fortitude to rise up and accomplish the goals set before me. While I have weathered and even risen above challenges in the past, I am not good at this sort of thing.

I found during drill last year that when I was passed up by the pacer, who was running a 10:30 mile, I reacted, not by pushing harder and running faster but, by allowing myself to become discouraged and by slowing down. Did I applaud the fact that I was at least there, trying? Yes. But I didn't shine the way I wanted to. Now, back then I hadn't even started a regular exercise program yet, had hardly run at all since high school unless it was after a child. But, I went back for more.

While being a survivor has its advantages I want to do more than survive this time. I want to succeed. I want to shine. I want to show myself and everyone else that I can do more.

I need to.

I am scared to death to put my 40 year old body through the paces involved in Army Basic Training. Twenty two weeks I will be training to become a soldier - a defender of freedom and an upholder of the Constitution. I have that long to become more than I have ever thought I could be. I want to become a force to be reckoned with.

I want to Be All I Can Be and I want to be Army Strong. It sounds trite, I know, but I want it anyway. It doesn't seem so trite to me now.

The Simple Life

So, while working on some jewelry yesterday I had some time to reflect.
This is a great way to relax, work out problems or on occasion bring your anxiety up to an outrageous level. Fortunately for me, this was one of the relaxing times...

I was thinking what a simple joy it was to do something so seemingly trivial, yet so satisfying. Filing away on some art clay silver green-ware pieces allowed my mind to wander. I started to think on the things that have brought me joy over the years and they all seem to have one thing in common. They are simple pleasures, simple gifts and simple times.

Some of the simple pleasures I can recall are;

An ice cream cone from the ice cream truck on a hot summer day.
Spending the day riding bikes with friends.
Building a fort and defending it from "Indians."
Building an igloo fort and defending it from polar bears.

Some of the simple gifts I have received;

The first "bubbles" I felt when pregnant with my children and knowing there was a little person in there.
The first look into the eyes of my children, knowing what a gift their lives were.
Slobbery kisses from a toddler and their arms around my neck.
A homemade present.
The love of a good man and his children.

Some simple times I have spent;

Camping, camping, camping - which I love.
Fishing with my dad.
Lying in a hammock next to the river with my husband.
Stone Mountain Laser Show... only the cost of parking...
Walks at night looking for fireflies.

It was hard for me to not make huge long lists for each of these. And it was interesting to realize that when I thought of satisfying, large impact memories - none of them involved lots of money or elaborate settings...

We only think we want more than a simple life - but really, when all is said and done - it will be the simple things that remain in our hearts and minds.

4th of July Means Something Different Now

Independence Day...

...Used to be when I thanked others for fighting for my freedom and for wishing I had been smart enough to join the military when I was younger. Well, water under the bridge...

As I watched two young people exchange wedding vows on the 4th of July, I had a moment to think on what future 4th of July celebrations would mean to me. While that young couple would learn about interdependence, I would be learning about fighting for freedom and independence wherever my Army career takes me.

I will sacrifice my own time with family, my own personal freedoms, to go fight for the freedom for both people who care and who could care less. While I know there are plenty more that do appreciate it, I can't help thinking that this willingness to go as far as dying for people, even those less appreciative, is the closest I could ever come to imitating my Savior. He was willing to die for people who would never know him, who would never appreciate his sacrifice. It is the only opportunity I can see for me to walk as closely in His steps as I am able.

Army Values are very similar to what God requires of me as a Christian.

Loyalty - Bear true faith and allegiance to the US Constitution, the Army, and other soldiers. Be loyal to the nation and its heritage.
Biblical Loyalty - Since God is faithful (loyal), it has become our responsibility to imitate Him in being faithful(loyal) by committing our lives to well doing.

Duty - Fulfill your obligations. Accept responsibility for your own actions and those entrusted to your care. Find opportunities to improve oneself for the good of the group.
Biblical Duty - Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

Respect - Rely upon the Golden Rule. How we consider others reflects upon each of us, both personally and as an organization.
Biblical Respect - Matthew 5:43-48 "...I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? ...And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others?..."

Selfless Service - Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own. Selfless service leads to organizational teamwork and encompasses discipline, self-control and faith in the system.
Biblical Selfless Service - The quality of 'stewardship' indicates the virtue of 'unconditional giving and selfless service'. It defines the standards within which every Christian is expected to live by. Luke 10:27 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

Honor - Live up to all the Army values.
Biblical Honor - The giving of honor is practiced in our relationships. It is demonstrated through submission and obedience to those who are called to places of authority and responsibility. Honor for God is the basis of all honor. Obedience to God is coupled to the honor we give to God.

Integrity - Do what is right, morally and legally. Be willing to do what is right even when no one is looking. It is our "moral compass" our inner voice.
Biblical integrity - Is not just doing the right thing; it’s a matter of having the right heart and allowing the person you are on the inside to match the person you are on the outside. This is how God is. This is how his people should be. Perhaps a good word to think of is “consistency.” There must be consistency between what is inside and what is outside.

Personal Courage - Our ability to face fear, danger, or adversity, both physical and moral courage.
Biblical Courage - Is the result of surrender and sovereignty. Our surrender to God's sovereignty, and our trust in God's strength, not our own. Joshua 1:9 "...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Having done this exercise now, I am humbled and encouraged to work harder on these values.

God's Blessings to you all - everyone!

Beat it, beat it....

I am beating my cold with back to back kickboxing classes.

I attended two classes tonight with two different instructors and was able to burn over 1000 calories. I died a little in between classes but was quickly revived when the boxing instructor asked me to try his class. He said it looked like I enjoyed punching, and punching hard. LOL!

So, I will soon be adding on a boxing class to my kickboxing class. Who knows what might be next?

Again, I felt so rejuvenated by the classes! Even though I worked harder than I have ever - except maybe at the National Guard Drill weekends I attended last year - I felt SO AWESOME! This is way better than working out at a regular gym - it never gets boring and each instructor has their own strength. This is good for me - I figure the more classes I attend the more I get of everyone's strengths. Makes me well rounded - not round - but well-rounded.

Tomorrow is going to be busy. I have to get Nate to the airport and then work on some jewelry. Then a kickboxing class at 12noon and then back for more jewelry... then maybe another kickboxing class at 5:30pm... this is becoming quite the habit!

I would LOVE to have some company for class! Come on!!

Postnote:
If you have not tried Greek Yogurt - I highly recommend it. I enjoy the honey flavored. It is kind of a cross between yogurt and cheese. Sweet!