The BEST Day

After the "terrible-no-good-very-bad-week," I was prepared for yesterday. I did not have my hopes up, and braced myself for bad news while continuing to keep a positive outlook for everyone else.

The day started out well enough. Harrison Barnes announced that he would, in fact, return to UNC for his sophomore season! This puts a starting line up of Barnes, Zeller, Strickland, Henson, and freshman McAdoo...which is a NBA front court, if I've ever seen one! Can you say #1 preseason ranking and 2012 national championship? My dad has already put in his name for the Final Four lottery!

The day continued well with a Krispy Kreme doughnut! Is there really anything better than sugary soft fried dough?

But the appointment I'd been waiting for finally came at 1:30. The doctor took his time, as they all do, but the smile on his face as he entered the room and the words ~ "it's benign" ~ the relief came rushing like a wave to rid my body and soul of worry and angst.

The excitement continued as I called my recruiter in San Diego. He greeted me with the words, "Congratulations, and welcome to the United States Naval Chaplain Corps." Really?! My packet has officially be signed off, and the next stop is officer development school in Newport, Rhode Island!

The day concluded with pool side laughter, a celebratory dinner with drinks, and watching the Bellagio fountains choreographed to "God Bless The USA!" How appropriate!

I am thankful for so many friends who prayed me through these last couple of weeks of waiting and gave me laughter amongst the nerves. I am even more thankful to God for the continued blessings He rains down on my life each and everyday. This is one amazing life, and I am so thankful to be a part of His journey!

Expecting the Unexpected

The last two days have brought nothing but the unexpected. After a great day at MEPS on Friday, it was expected that Monday would be a breeze. The green check marks would be abundant and finally I would achieve medical readiness status for the Navy. The final hurdle would be jumped! ...I could not have been more wrong. While I am not ready for the world to know the extent of the damage, let's just say that I have been medically disqualified.

On the way back from Haiti, I told God that if He didn't want me to join the Navy afterall, it would require a huge sign. Monday left me wondering if this was indeed the huge sign? Or was it God's way of saying that life over the past few years has been pretty easy and joyful and it was time I really work for something? I sought the advice of my two spiritual advisers. Each were bewildered but not completely convinced that this was the big sign. Thus, I chose to continue praying, and let the Navy decide my fate with them. Today I will receive a phone call with the next steps...

Yesterday was just as unexpected. I am thankful for friends and prayers that walked John & me through the day. What would we do without the encouraging community of believers that God has provided us? We would certainly be lost and lonely. I am thankful that I will never have to feel those emotions.

So today, I will look for and expect the unexpected...as that seems to be the theme of the week. Tune in tomorrow for today's big surprise...as I am sure there will be one!

MEPS, part two

This week in the Adventures of Ashley...

Would you believe that I have yet to unpack my bags from Haiti? Well, I did pull out the dirty clothes and they were washed immediately. But the two bags have not made it out of my garage yet. Perhaps today will be the day. It's been a week of playing "catch-up." There was so much reading and school work to accomplish. I had missed my friends desperately, and phone calls and skype chats took up many hours this week. I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many loving people. Every time I finished a call or chat, I would smile for the following hours. It has been a joy to relive the trip over and over as I recount the highlights and the work we accomplished.

With the school work complete, it was time to figure out what the Navy was going to do with me. I have completed the necessary paperword, my chaplains packet is at the National Board for review this week, and my security clearance has apparently cleared. So...are they going to accept my medical history, or is it time to find a new path? When my recruiter called to say I had to go back to MEPS, my heart sank.  If you have not read the previous post of this wonderful adventure, please do so, as it's a day I will never forget. Before I went in yesterday, I made sure to practice my duck walk...

They asked for me to arrive at noon, and being one to always arrive early, I was there at 11:40am. Turns out that my appointment was moved to 2:00pm, but they just figured it would be good to have me there to wait a couple of hours in the crowded waiting area. At 2:20pm, they called me back. I was in and out in a little under 7 minutes and received a big green check mark on my folder. They passed me...but I still have to return for another "consult" on Monday at 9:30am. Does it ever end? (And believe me, I asked if I should give even more practice to duck walking... They said no.)

There was a silver lining to all of this waiting. One of the physician assistants told me that the astounding doctor I saw during the last visit had received a reprimand from his superiors. I assume that he called someone a "spring chicken" and they complained! I know it is the season of Lent, and it is the time of forgiveness, but I could not help but feel a little vindicated!

And so the story continues... Tune in Monday for the update!

MEPS

Many of you have asked, "What exactly happened last Friday?" (See last Friday's post...)

After much debate, I'm finally ready to talk about it! While the story here may not be as funny as me telling it with multiple hand gestures and reenactments, I nevertheless hope you will have a good laugh. 

MEPS stands for Military Entrance Processing Station. As many of you know, I have applied for a Commission with the Navy as a Chaplain. I have completed all of the paperwork, fingerprinting, had my interview with the Chaplain board, etc. Really all that was left for me to do was to go through MEPS. In layman's terms, it is much like the most thorough physical you'll ever experience.

It all started with the time to meet. Granted, I have been working with officer recruiters in San Diego. They have been amazing, and I really appreciate all of their hard work and communication with me. They set me up with a couple of folks here in Vegas to get me to MEPS at the Air Force Base. I was told to meet the folks at 6:30am at Nellis Air Force Base. Naturally, I arrived at 6:15am, as I am an early bird and like to make sure I know where to go. I waited. 6:30am passed. 6:45am passed. I called the number I had for the petty officer, and nothing. Finally a car pulls up, asks if I was "Broadhurst", and I jumped in. 

When we arrive at the medical facility on base, we wait again. Apparently a 7:00am appointment meant 7:30am. I quickly realize that I will be there with a group of 18-year old future enlistees. Great....  They hear I'm going in as an officer and a chaplain, and suddenly everyone begins to act scared of me!

They call three of us back for the first test - a hearing test. We go into sound proof, "Clark Kent" booths and put on head phones... And mine don't work. The nurse comes in, readjusts...and they still don't work. I hear a noise, push my button, and nothing... Finally, she gets it to work, and apparently I do have exceptional hearing! One down...

The three of us are taken to a room with the other two that we met before. The nurse comes in and asks if anyone needs to use the restroom. I had been waiting for this since 7:00am! I jump up and head to the bathroom, receive my cup, and then the nurse does not leave. She continues to stand over me... Yes, yes, she must watch me pee! Oh boy! Now, I have a shy bladder on the best of days, and usually cannot go to the bathroom if someone is in the stall beside me! So, of course, I sit there for a few, and then get up with no success. The nurse sends me back to the room, tells me to drink water, and relax. Relax? 

The nurse comes back in and asks for two people. It's blood drawing time. Woo. Again, on the best of days, it takes about two to three tries to get blood out of me. It's never a fun process. However, the boy who came with me decided to distract me and tell me the stories of all of his tattoos. Sure enough, she gets blood on the first try, and I'm out of there. As I walk down the hall, a man is staring at me and points to my arm. I look down, and it's like Old Faithful! Blood is squirting out of my arm like a geyser! My arm is covered with blood! I walk back to the nurse's room, and say, "Um, I think something may be wrong." She comes over, cleans me up, applies much more pressure, and finally I stop bleeding. I go back to the room and drink more water. 

The eye doctor then came and got me. Color blind test, check. No problem. Then I put my head on the "letters" machine. Nothing. He says to read the smallest line I can. Nothing. I see absolutely nothing. He says to look down or tilt my head. Nothing. I see nothing. Then he realizes he hasn't hit the light button. Oh yeah?! I shook my head, read the smallest letters, and he commends me on my eyesight. Then there's a depth perception test. Now sitting here right now, looking at items around my house, I can tell you what is further away and what is closer. Outside? Same thing. I can tell you what mountain is in front of the other mountain. This test? I look at the circles. I got nothing. I ask to make sure he's illuminated the correct one, and he gives me a look... I got nothing. Big fat FAIL. Hey, at least I'm going to be a Chaplain, not a pilot. 

Finally, I am about to burst with pee. I grab the nurse, we go to the bathroom, she talks about her snowboarding vacation to distract me, and finally I pee in the cup with a person standing over me. Success. 

When we come back to the room, she calls the three of us girls to come with her. We come to a hallway that is cordoned off with two black sheets at either end. She gives us each a clothes basket, and tells us we can put our clothes in it. What? Why would I take off my clothes in the middle of a hallway that people continue to walk through? But, that's what we do. Strip down to our undies. And here walks in a male doctor. Excellent. It's me standing with two fit 18 year old girls. Great. We proceed to go though a series of exercises...in our undies. Walking on our heels, walking on our toes, walking on our knees... Mortifying. And then...we have to walk around the room like a duck... Oh yes. So I walk like a duck in the way I've been walking like a duck since I was three. However, he wants us to walk a different way... I just don't get it. I cannot make my body move in the way he wants us to move. After three minutes of trying, he finally says I'm good... Mortifying. Absolutely mortifying. 

But wait, there's more...

Clothed again, I am taken to a regular examining room. I sit, sit...nap...sit, wait...sit, nap, text, check the box scores, sit. After 90 minutes the nurse and doctor came in. The same two that watched me pee and watched me duck walk. We talk, he makes notes, we talk more. Then he says it's time to get naked. Okay, sure, got a gown? No no, just stand in the middle of the room without clothes on.  Are you kidding me? 20 minutes I stand in front of this doctor without clothes to he can measure scars, measure birthmarks, and poke and prod places I didn't know were able to be poked and prodded. When the words "bend over and spread 'em came," I cringed. While I tried to dream up my "happy place," it just wouldn't happen!

As I'm getting dressed and he's writing notes on my chart, he says the following words, "Well, you're no spring chicken." 

My head jerks up, and I say, "Excuse me?!" He repeats, "You're no spring chicken. I'm used to seeing 18 and 19 year olds."

What kind of doctor, what kind of MAN tells a WOMAN who has just been standing in front of him without clothes for 20 minutes that she is no spring chicken? 

I looked at him, and said, "Sir, if I weren't a pastor, I'd deck you right now."

And so ends my day at MEPS. It's now 1:30pm. After arriving at 6:15am, it's been quite the mortifying, embarrassing day of firsts and hopefully lasts! 

I hope you have enjoyed this laugh, and I am thankful that I will never have to relive this day...ever again!

Friends That Make You Smile

Apologies for not writing yesterday. I had a 5-page paper due, and there were no words left in me by the end of the day.

While I will not go into thorough detail, I am simply thankful today for friends who keep you company through mortifying events. Today was medical processing day with the Navy. I also refered to it as a day of firsts and lasts, as there were things I did for the first time and I hope it will be the last time...ever! It was also a day of hurry up and wait! During those times of sitting and waiting for the next form of torture, I was thankful for friends who laughed with me through embarrassment and gave me strength to continue onward! Afterall, thousands of people have all gone through this process... I should put my head down and finish the day!

Finish I did, thanks to these friends. I am a very lucky gal to be surrounded by so many full of encouragement and affirmation! And thankful to hopefully never live this day again!!!

Grace & peace!

Fingerprinting

The Hogans filled me with encouragement and sent me off with a hugs and good luck wishes after breakfast. It left me with a smile on my face for the day ahead. I was so thankful to have spent time with the family. It was exactly what I needed, and I miss them already!

The board interview went superbly. After yesterday's inquisition, this was a breeze! I mainly sat, listened, and responded when necessary. When the Chaplain patted me on the back and said, "Welcome to the Navy," I took it as a good sign! I was very thankful to have spent time with him and learn from his years of service. 

My recruiter took me to another base to finish processing my paperwork/packet and security clearance. To top it off, I got to play with ink! Yes, after three full tries, I gave a good set of fingerprints, smudge-free! I mean really...have you ever been fingerprinted? It requires intense concentration to "let the ink do the work", not to press too hard, and lift without smudging. Who knew?! 

The next steps should be far easier and quicker than the methodical, slow steps over the last several months. Without putting the cart before the horse, I am so thankful and excited that this dream is becoming a reality... It looks to be "smudge-free!"

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

San Diego

Today has been full of thanksgiving! It was an early morning, yet again, with an amazing sunrise on the way to San Diego. This trip served two big purposes. The first was to meet with my Navy recruiters and have a big interview. The second was to spend time with one of my favorite families from northern Virginia! It has been a spectacular day!

When I pulled up to the pizza restaurant for lunch and four beautiful kids came running up, I was completely filled with joy and gratitude. I love the Hogan Family so much and they made today perfect! We went to the beach, raced to the ocean and chased sea gulls! We ate ice cream, watched the waves and searched for bathrooms! There were magic tricks and fun stories. There was catching up and lots of laughter. Ah! Could it have been a more perfect day with wonderful people? I really don't think so!

Ah yes, life is good, God is great, and I am so thankful for a day full of love in beautiful San Diego!