Drill 1

I’ve officially begun in my Army Reserve unit, and the past two days have been a whirlwind filled with sore muscles, pink cheeks, and a full heart.

Sore muscles

I hadn’t received my orders, so wasn’t sure if I would be attending drill this weekend.  Well, I got a text from my fellow Dietitian in the unit, saying to come and be ready to take a PT (physical fitness test).  With less than a day’s notice, I’m really glad I’ve been working out lately!  The test comprises push-ups, sit-ups, and a run.  I did fine but push-ups are my worst section.  Thus, the sore pecs.

Pink cheeks

I’m not going to pretend (nor did I pretend) that I know a ton about the Army.  It wasn’t as terrible as I figured it would be, thank goodness, but I still had a few occasions to sport some rosy cheeks of embarrassment :)  For starters, I didn’t have a uniform so I stuck out like a sore thumb in my civilian clothes.  Though, as a friend pointed out (trying to make me feel better about the situation), it may have helped because I was clearly “the new girl” and this may have helped me get away with not knowing stuff.  Among other things, I don’t know all the ranks down pat yet, so that was interesting.  I safely called people “sir” or “ma’am” except once; he really wanted to be called “sergeant.”  Oops!  I’ll be reading up on all this stuff real soon…

Full heart

There are SO many reasons why my heart is full!  First, I got to see my dear friend after day 1.  She graciously let me stay with her so I didn’t have to go all the way back home.  We are sisters-in-Christ, but I still like to think of her as the younger sister I never had.  A second reason why my heart is full is because I think I’m going to really enjoy being in the Reserves, so I’m very grateful to God for this adventure!  For different reasons, I think I was made to be in the military.  Time will only tell.  Thirdly, I’m happy to have finally met my unit, especially everyone in my section.  I’m working with an awesome fellow Dietitian and some of my specialists (soldiers we’re in charge of) are going to be nice to work alongside. 

So much happened it seems, and I have a lot to learn but I’m still super excited!