Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 128-132

Hi Team.

I'm back.  The last week or so has been long and hard, but I am amazed at how much love and support I have received from friends and family, from God, from strangers even.  Today I layed my grandpa, George Blue, to rest.  He was buried with full military honors and Portland Fire and Rescue attended to pay tribute to a wonderful, compassionate man who loved deeply and shared his love and compassion with all he came into contact with.  Grandpa served 30 years in the fire service and never tired of talking about his passion for helping others and of telling great stories about his work.  He was a wonderful man, an awesome grandpa and I will miss him very much.  Rest in peace Grandpa.


I learned something this week that perhaps deep down I knew all along, but now I have to face.  I am an emotional eater.  I eat for comfort.  And when I am sad I eat anything and everything.  I fear I may have a lot undoing to to do.  And I didn't drink enough either.  And because I wasn't sleeping much, I didn't exercise much either, though I DID make my friday workout with Coach Alex.

I realized, too, that I have not fully gotten back into the swing of things since November when I had the swine flu.  I need a swift kick in the axe to get back in the game, and prayers for some strong will power to do what needs to be done, no matter how I feel.  I DO want this for myself.  I WANT to live this dream and I have been letting life drag me down.  It's time to toughen up and buckle down and get to work!  The way I see it, I've been climbing this ladder for four months and I've made progress.  Now I've misstepped and slid down a few rungs but I'm back and it's up, up, up I go from here.

Thanks so much for your support.  You'll never know just how much it means to me.

Stay safe!

Hotflash out.