The latter half of the week always seems more tolerable for R especially as we get closer to Friday. Wednesday night was a bit rough, considering he would have had Wednesday liberty but R and a good number of cadets were unable to partake (part of that unwanted attention he received last week). They were given written work to do on Wednesday night, instead of having a chance to eat dinner off campus so needless to say Wednesday was not his favorite.
Here's a few updates I've gotten from Wednesday and Thursday of Week 3:
- On top of getting to experience skidpan, they had a chance to be in the car on the EVOC track doing high speed. He said the instructors didn't go full speed but probably a good 100 mph which all of the cadets loved. It was the highlight of the week.
- After a pep talk we had this weekend, he improved on his run time! :)
- The cadets have started baton work.
- This is the weekend that the Senior cadets get to do ride alongs at their new field offices.
- Which also means today (Friday) is the first day that the junior cadets are at the academy solo... R said was going to be interesting. He spent extra time perfecting this uniform last night.
- To end on a good note, he was approached yesterday with a knowledge question and he knew the right answer.
There were definitely a few moments this week I had to really up the encouragement levels to lift R up. I think week 3 and week 4 are probably among the hardest because they're finally settling into the routine and the novelty adrenaline has probably worn off, but they also haven't been doing it long enough for their bodies to completely adjust. I told him by this time next week, he will have been in the academy for nearly a month (26 days) so his body will likely be adapted to the lack of sleep by then. He did say he was already starting to wake up before his alarm so that's a good sign. I try my best to look on the bright side for him, when I know it's hard for him to see it.
He seemed more relaxed on the phone in the evenings, and I enjoy hearing the fun banter between him and his roommates. Apparently he gets made fun of for saying the world "hella" on the phone with me (which historically is a Northern California-specific word of emphasis, that people from SoCal always make fun of) and for not remembering the 80s (being too young). His roommates are the closest cadets R is friends with at the academy, so I enjoy hearing that they get some time to laugh together.
Can't wait to see him tonight! Can't believe we're another week down..
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