Unexpectedly long

Well...yikes. I haven't blogged in a million years. Today's blog is about celebrating the lacerations on my back and upper arm.

You see, they are fairly mild and not terribly painful, but I got them from crouching inside a barrel and then rolling down (and, consequently, up, and back down again) a half pipe (a sort of u-shaped skateboard ramp). It was a good day at work. I can say, without a trace of doubt, I never thought I would ever roll down a ramp in a barrel, let alone as part of my job.

Other things I never thought would be part of my job:

-Cleaning black stuff out of horse troughs. And enjoying it.
-Falling backwards off of said horse trough into mud. And laughing about it.
-Wearing Run Watch clothing while aforementioned muddy clothes were washing and drying. And looking like Christmas in July.

I've worked hard to get to this spot, dammit, and I'm going to celebrate it. Celebrate all the blow-ups, and the aggression, and the Fuckyougotohellbitch nights. Celebrate the Ihateyou's and the whining/complaining/nagging. Celebrate the tears and the laughter and the silliness and the nicknames and all the emotional outpouring I've put into this job. Celebrate the moment I realized this isn't just a "job" and I don't always get to just clock out and not think about it anymore. Celebrate the boys who work their asses off to conquer stuff that most grown-ups I know have never had to conquer, in a setting that would drive anyone mad. Celebrate me growing and learning to stand my ground. Learning what it means to love someone even when they, literally or figuratively, spit in your face. Learning to protect people who swear they don't need it, but scream it with their silence. Learning to give, and to forgive. Learning to lose the small battles (most difficult) in order to win the war. Learning to let my guard down. Learning not to take crap and to stand up for myself. Learning to laugh while sprinting up and down cheat-grass covered hillsides in 90 degree weather. Learning to do all this and not give up. Despite all the mistakes. Because, then, when I'm lucky, a kid pulls me aside, reads me an apology letter, and tells me he's ready to turn a new leaf.