What is your litmus test? Your gauge to help you make decisions or choices? Mine has always been the woman in the mirror. Whenever I’m trying to decide what I should or shouldn’t do I don’t worry about what others may think or how they may interpret my actions. I ask myself one question….can I do this and face myself in the mirror? Because I can’t outrun me, ignore me or pretend amnesia with myself.

Normally my reflection is the first and last thing I see. I have to deal with me every day. That doesn’t mean that I have always gotten it right. Liquid courage at 2am can look very distorted at 2pm. There has even been a time or two that I made decisions that I thought I could face but realized later that I didn’t like what was reflected back to me.

Choosing to use the mirror test has kept me from having a lot of regrets, nightmares and self-loathing. It makes me stop and review my morals, values and consult my conscience. I must be able to look myself in the eyes and see contentment, confidence and peace.

There’s something about being near water that makes me happy, especially when I look out for miles and miles and see nothing but water, sky and vastness. I equate that scene with endless possibilities…. And I believe that the sky is the limit! As we’ve seen, especially this year, water lets nothing stand in its way it will go around it, over it or through it. Remember that song.. going on a bear hunt….. Water separates but it also connects…country to country, people to people, and culture to culture. It opens our eyes to exotic and mysterious things above and beneath.

If you pay attention you can really learn a lot from water. Here are just a few things, make a list of your own.

• Perseverance – water eventually finds a way. Sometimes it takes years but it doesn’t give up; eventually it will flow through.
• Fluidity – water changes, it’s flexible and unpredictable
• Mysterious – Water holds unique beauty and mystery beneath the surface and consistently reflects that beauty
• Multi-dimensional – water effortlessly plays many roles in our lives,
• Deep – water can be shallow when you first enter in but the further in you go it becomes deep; so deep that we can enjoy ourselves in it and still not exhaust its depths

Do you really rest? This is the question that I’ve asked myself in the last couple of days. I decided to come here to Tampa FL for a week vacation just to soak up the sun and play in the sand. The cold weather in Atlanta was beginning to wear on me and my brain was tired after completing my last final for the term…it was a beast! My goal while I’m in Tampa is to rest, relax, and reflect on the past year and determine what changes I want to make for the new year. I selected Tampa because it’s only a 6 and a half hour drive from Atlanta and I was in the mood for a nice drive. I didn’t feel like flying or going anywhere out of the country. I think that two of the best military benefits are access to base lodging which is normally much cheaper than off base and Space A military flights. I chose to indulge myself and save money by staying on MacDill AFB. The base is on Tampa Bay, has a beach, and the Inn was built two years ago so it’s still new and fresh. Every day of my trip has been packed with things to do…shopping, sight-seeing, working out, walking on the beach, more sight-seeing, more shopping, etc. Each night I turn on the television (I must have my Hallmark Channel fix, especially with the new Christmas movies), I crawl into bed and pass out; I have not watched a single movie yet. This unconsciousness is what has led me to question if I ever rest. To rest is defined as “to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.” With this definition in mind, I’m not sure that I have ever rested one day in my adult life. Whenever I go on vacation I line up so many things to do that I’m on the go almost every day…. I never cease movement. Passing out every night before 9:00 is also an indicator that I do not consciously rest so my body is taking over so that it can get what it needs to withstand my high ops tempo. What do you have to do to actually rest? I have to plan… My goal is to rest the remaining days of my vacation. I will get up when my body says to and listen to and obey my body for the whole day. When I get back to Atlanta I want to be ready for my next adventure and not need a vacation from my vacation. Take time to rest!