Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...December 16, 2008

I had my practical last night and I am waiting to hear if I passed. Everyone was so encouraging beforehand, telling me not to overthink like I have the habit of doing. I want to make a few observations and if you're a parent you will like these.

One is my son who is 11 has been extremely afraid of heights. I have a balcony in front of a window and the last time I asked him to clean the window and floor (quite a way up) he told me afterwards how afraid he had been to go up that high. On Sunday, I decided to take out my ladder and climb up there myself. Piece of cake since I already had to climb the 24 and 35 foot ladders. Lo and behold I heard a "Mommy, I'll do it." I taught him some of the techniques I learned about safety and what to do if you're afraid of heights. From now on, I guess I won't have to clean that window and floor.

Second observation - When I was practicing getting my gear on in a timely fashion for the mid-term, this same son sat with me using the Google clock to time me. My speed improved and I owe it to him. Yesterday when I was obsessing about my practical, he put it all in perspective for me. "Mom, let's just watch Horton Meets a Who," he said. I sat and watched most of it with him until it was time to go. When I came home and he asked me how I did, he said we'll have to watch the rest on Wednesday, before the written test.

This is why I became a volunteer firefighter.

PS What are the odds of during the SCBA part of the test my mask pops a screw. Only me.