1st Lt Prifogle’s Blog

I overslept. I wake up and look at my clock and it’s already past 8. I didn’t go to bed particularly late, but when my alarm went off I must have turned it off in my sleep. My room is dark and I stumble to find a flashlight (recently all my lightbulbs burnt out and I keep forgetting to put in a work order to have it fixed). I’m late and my Marines are already at their desks going through their morning tasks. I throw on a sports bra and try to find the cleanest tank top and shorts I can find on the pile of “too clean to be washed, but too dirty to be folded” clothes. According to my clock it’s 8:10 which means it’s probably 10 til 8 because my alarm is never correct. I find a pair of somewhat clean socks and throw on my gym shoes (different from my running shoes next to them), brush my hair and grab an elastic hair band. I run across the street and into the bathroom. I look at myself as I brush my teeth and make sure I haven’t forgotten anything and I look somewhat presentable to the world – my Marines.

As I lean over the sink to spit I realize I have a headache. Not any headache, one of those headaches where it feels like a miniature lawn gnome is sitting in your brain mining for gold. This could be due to a lot of things – dehydration, sleep deprivation, changes in the weather. I blame the weather. Normal temps have been around 115º and higher. Today there are strong winds blowing up the sand and I can feel the pressure change in the atmosphere. I welcome the drop in temperatures it will bring, but the headache that accompanies it makes it unbearable to walk in a straight line. I explain this to my SSgt who looks at me like I’m telling her aliens visited me last night and says, “Ma’am, is this an Indiana thing – telling when the weather’s going to change like that?”

I go back to my room to grab my ID.  I must have sat down long enough to fall asleep.  When I finally do wake up it’s already 0930. I change into my cammies in the dark. As I cinch up my belt around my waist I realize today there is no MCMAP. I earned my Green Belt and for the first time in over 3 weeks I will have time in the afternoon. No more body hardening, no more monkey drills, no more grappling. No more kill kill kill.

It’s a little disappointing in a way. Like the end of a really good movie. You want the credits to roll so you can stand up and stretch your legs or run to the bathroom without missing a critical scene, but you don’t want it to be over. My body is bruised and sore, but it was used to its afternoon thrashing. I gave everything I had during the MCMAP course. I earned the belt and I’m proud of it.

I’m under the 2 month mark now. Less than 2 months and I’ll be home with my friend and family; back to normal life - whatever that means. I wonder now, will I be disappointed? Am I going to miss the enchanted land of the desert? Will I look back and ask, “could I have done more?”

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