A is for Asthma

In preparation for my FEMA Corps experience I did quite a bit of thinking ahead to prepare myself for the unexpected.  How would I handle living in dorms again with people half my age?  How would I handle a 24/7 job?  How would I handle conflict in this setting?  How would I refill my prescriptions if I’m in the middle of a disaster?  What I didn’t ask was how to prepare myself for an asthma attack.  Up until now, I’ve never had asthma and I never planned on getting it.

So there’s several theories I have for why at the age of 44 I am getting asthma attacks for the first time.  I’m not going to bother to get into any of them but they range from a variety of conspiracy theories to the simple fact that Sacramento has the honor of being rated the worst city for allergies in the United States.  Not something advertised by the Chamber of Commerce I imagine.

Now that I have an inhaler and a full night of sleep last night I’m doing much better.   I’m also getting used to my new life and environment…having a roommate, sharing a bathroom with 3 other people, and sharing a kitchen with 23 other people.  For someone that likes her independence, it can get quite challenging.  Lucky for me I wake up early in the morning to miss the kitchen rush and find other opportunities to zone out.

I’m also sitting thru hours of training on leadership, communication, policies, conflict management, and supervision.  Although the training topics aren’t really new for me, I’m learning and growing in ways that I never imagined.  For the first time in my life, people that are committed to a common purpose and driven to be their best surround me.  May sound cheesy but true.  No doubt about it that the group of team leaders I met only 10 days ago are amazing.