2007 started out great. The basement was finished, the Bears had made it to the Super Bowl (and lost), Katrina was finally in a job she really enjoyed, and the kids were healthy and happy.
Firefighter wise, I was also in a good place. I was really sinking my teeth into volunteer work, and was making a good name for myself. And then I got a phone call....
Even though we lived in Missouri, we still had strong Chattanooga ties. We had been visiting the Ratchfords every year since our departure in 2004. Our girls were born three months apart and Katrina and Misty talked daily...sometimes it seemed like hourly. So it was no surprise to get a call from Jamie.
He let me know that he had heard of talk of an fire academy. He wasn't sure of the time frame, but he knew the city had started taking applications. Now I had a decision to make....
It was February 15, 2007. It was around 3:00 in the morning and my mind was going a mile a minute. There was no use in trying to go back to sleep, so I stumbled out of bed and headed downstairs to the basement. I flipped on the Television, and the movie Cool Runnings was on. I wish I could make some great connection between a Jamaican Bobsled team and me becoming a firefighter, but no...the movie was nothing but mindless background noise. I did decide, at that moment however, that I was going to apply for the academy. I waited until a "normal persons" wake up time to inform Katrina of my decision. She was supportive, and an application was filled out, that day.
Because I lived in Missouri, Jamie was my eyes, ears, and feet in Chattanooga. I mailed off my application, resume, and references to him. He hand delivered it to the recruiting supervisor. He then mailed me all the test preparation material. Once I had that booklet, I did nothing but type out notes, memorize facts, and study study study. Katrina on the other hand, prepared our house for potential buyers. We were moving, and the house needed to go.
We made one more trip to Chattanooga in March to visit the Ratchfords. On that visit, Jamie took me over to the fire hall in Hixson. He introduced me to his captain. His captain wanted to meet with me for a couple of minutes (I'm guessing he didn't want to give out a reference to a complete stranger...don't blame him).
As the months went on, confirmation letters arrived with my written test date. My first round on this firefighter journey started late April 2007. The test preparation material covered a ton of information and I thought I was ready....
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