Roll With the Punches

I’m going to one more fire tomorrow morning. I got the call earlier today, and my immediate reaction after I agreed to go and hung up was fear. Firefighting always — always — disrupts my life, and it’s a big reason why I’m restarting many of my past habits. I’m not fed well there at all, so I know my weight will fluctuate again once the fire’s over. I won’t be working out as much, and depending on the fire, I may not even work all that much. I don’t want to say I won’t, but it’ll be really difficult to write not only my novel but also my blog entries. I can write in both projects with my iPhone, but that’s obviously not ideal. I’m not sure what to do. To top it off, I find out on Monday whether I got the IT job or not, and I’m afraid I won’t be within cellphone range if they do call me. What if I get the job? Do I have to walk away from the fire? What if I don’t get the job? Then the fire will be a good influx of money that I really need.

I have to be at the division by 7 AM. I haven’t even packed yet. The last fire I was on, we were allowed to go home every night. I’m thinking that the bosses will be offering this option again since the fire’s local, and the weather isn’t hot enough to cause the fire to spread any bigger than it already is. Regardless, I have to pack my bag and be ready. I love firefighting, and I’d love to hang out with my buds again. The fire could last a few days or even a week. I just hope that everything I’ve built up in the last 13 days don’t go to waste. Maybe I can keep my blog updated, but they won’t be at least 400 words long, which has been my unofficial word count since day one.

I have the tools to keep the most important parts of my routines going: I can write with my iPhone (and I can even bring my iPad with me, just in case); firefighting by definition is physical, so I’ll be moving around no matter what; and I can try my best to give away all the junk they give us and subsist on the healthier options, if there are any.

This is not the end of the world, man. You’ll be making money doing something you really enjoy. If you get the job, explain it to your bosses what’s going on. They know you’re a firefighter, I’m sure they’ll understand. And your habits? Just try.

I’ll try to roll with the punches and hope for the best… I’m going on another fire!