Wednesday Check-In: Hanging In There

Hello and Happy Wednesday. I didn't mean to leave you hanging so long as far as the work drama, my emotional status, and life in general. I wanted to pop-in and also check-in.

I am liking training with my new trainer Diana. Night shift is a lot different than day shift so I am getting my feet wet again with the types of calls that come in on the phones and the line of questioning I need to be prepared with. I am also still working on my room awareness and after yesterday it could be that I am letting some of the focus on my calls distract from the other stuff going on in the room. This was based on two events last night/yesterday so it is something to be mindful of as I continue to navigate my way. Sadly, my scores weren't passing last night but they were passing on Monday night. I need to keep working on my confidence and my consistency.

One positive to last night is that I had my first working fire/structure fire and it went really smoothly. It was fairly slow in the center at the time of the fire so that helped with my focus. I didn't miss any radio traffic and I had a plan in place for the fire engines I would send on other calls that came in. I know part of my struggle in the past is when my resources are depleted and I don't have any fire engines/trucks to send on calls. So having a plan and being prepared will help combat future “panic mode”.

I am looking forward to three days off after I finish my 6 hour shift tonight. Kenyon and I now have days off together, although we are on opposite shifts. I am happy I get to spend time with him. I have the best husband in the world and he has been so supportive during all this stress of job transition and training. I seriously considered quitting after the start of my shift last night. I sent Kenyon and email at work to let him know that things had started to improve but that we might need to have a serious talk. He was very supportive and gave me some good points to think about. We met for dinner after I got off work (or breakfast as it was 3am) and we talked more. When I woke up this morning I had flowers and a card waiting for me. I really did win the lottery with this guy. He is so wonderful to me. I am so thankful for his support, love, and thoughtfulness. Whenever I burst into tears he is always there to give me a hug and a pep talk.