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Mr. Hooah! is in the trenches and preparing to take his APFT. This has been a long time coming. We are fast approaching the one-year anniversary of the day that we both will remember as a traumatic and hope-stealing time. Today he is increasing his distance and speed with little difficulty. The leg is better, but not quite what it used to be. I don’t know if he can live with not being a Beta runner any longer, but he seems to want to give it a shot with what he has to offer. I suspect he will be taking that APFT very soon.

It was roughly a month after my husband’s surgery and I was driving back from dropping Nate off to school. Emma was in the back listening to her happy kid’s music, and I was deep in reverie. Driving is a great medium for me to think. I am very mindful of the road, but the fact that it is fairly quiet, and my toddler is strapped safely into a car seat, allows me time to actually process my thoughts a little more deeply and for a little more time than is usually afforded me.

I was caught up in this sort of reverie and anticipating the next conversation with Mr. Hooah! I could tell that he was feeling discouraged. I knew that I needed to do my best to build him up from a distance, and through the medium of a cell phone line. It was not going to be an easy task.

He had done a great job jumping back to action, or as much action as the surgeon and his profile would allow. As soon as he was released from the hospital he was walking from HHC to the DFAC (about the distance of a football field) and he waited in line like everyone else. He only went to the front one day when a DFAC worker insisted on it. He didn’t want to upset this person who was apparently very distressed that he was standing there on crutches and not sitting. I liked hearing that people were watching out for him, personally, but he wanted to stand in line with his buddies. I understand that too. His discouragement was not beyond my ability, but when I was thinking things through I just didn’t know what to say to him at that time.

I didn’t have any answers. I couldn’t encourage him about his second chance because I can’t reassure him that it will definitely be there. The last thing a discouraged heart needs to hear are empty promises and songs of false hope. He’s a smart man, and I am an honest woman. So, here we have a quandary.

The truth of the matter was, the truth itself was not that encouraging at that moment; at least not to someone who has suffered quite a bit of physical trauma. The break was pretty traumatizing, and the surgery was even more so. Even though surgery is necessary to heal and heal well, it is still very traumatic to the body. What affects the body, affects the mind and so on. So, at this time he was in a post-surgical slump, and he was and still is facing a lot of unknowns.

So, what could I say to him? How could I convey a message to him that hope is not lost, and that even though I have no proof that a second chance is even possible, I think he will get one? I don’t know what that second chance will look like, but I believe it is was always there.

It was about this time in my quiet reverie that verbal words came out of my mouth. I relived what one of his Captains said during his leadership training course in OCS. They were running out of time and it was his call. He called the shots, made good decisions and was proudly told “That was one hell of a recovery!”

At that moment I knew that I was going to remind him of the other times he struggled to get through a point in his training. He used his mind, his resources and his strength and all of that combined got him to where he needed to be. He has faced his challenges with bravery.

It does not take bravery to face the wind when you own your course, and you own it everyday. It does not take bravery to face challenges when you are strong, encouraged and moving forward in the manner in which you have planned. It takes moxy, fortitude and dedication, but not bravery.

Every courageous act begins with a spark of bravery. Courage is seen on the face whereas bravery is felt in the heart. Bravery is the initial spark that leads to the courage that others will witness. What better circumstances to have your shot at bravery and courage than a situation that feels nearly hopeless?

You can not display bravery when you are certain. There is nothing grand about stepping your foot out onto a solid and sure surface. We all do it everyday. Walking out on a ledge for the right reasons, and to defy your innermost-self that is screaming for you to stay on the safe end of the beam is bravery! To defy that human urge to cling to safety and security when you realize that the risk is large but the payoff is ethereal is bravery.

When we chose this path we did so with our whole heart. We sold our home, we sunk a lot of money and sacrifice into this path, and we are not turning back. Our past is neatly folded behind us, and our plans for the future have been greatly paused and possibly altered by a severely broken bone. Regardless of our circumstances, forward is the only way to go.

We have no answers. We have no assurance. What we have is our Faith, one another, our family, and some courage and bravery to display.

We also still possess a shot at one hell of a recovery!

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