Adrienne Hood 2

I once heard that some people need a major life event to occur for them to reevaluate their lives and make a change for the better.

My husband getting deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 was just that. I've never cried so hard in my life, let alone in the middle of an airport terminal, as my husband walked down that ramp to the airplane that would take him overseas to a war zone for almost six months. It was heartbreaking.

While I consider myself a strong and independent person, my husband, David, and I had been together since I was 17. We stayed together through him leaving for basic training and tech school before he was lucky enough to get stationed at Scott Air Force Base just an hour away. We even got married at 19 and 20 years old and made it through almost the full 4 years of active duty when he had only had 8 months left before separating from the Air Force. I naively thought we’d somehow managed to avoid a deployment in those 4 years. I was wrong. It was February in 2006 and we lived on Scott Air Force Base.

David came home from work and found me upstairs. When I looked up, he had a strange look on his face so I thought he was about to surprise me with something nice since it was close to Valentine’s Day. Then his expression changed and I knew it was bad. I can’t imagine how hard that was for David to tell me and to handle the crying that ensued. I did not feel strong and independent at that moment. It felt like I was about to lose a limb because that’s the only way I could imagine how being without him would feel.

We had a couple months to square things away before he left and, in that time, we moved to my parent’s house where I’d stay during the deployment so I wouldn't be alone and away from family. When he left, I didn't know what to do with myself but within a week of him getting on that airplane, it dawned on me. I needed to be strong. This was my opportunity. I called a local gym and immediately setup a membership and an appointment with a personal trainer. 

I somehow got lucky enough to have been randomly matched with Debbie Portell as my trainer. 

Debbie would help me transform my life in ways I couldn't have imagined in the months that followed.

In hindsight, I wish it hadn't taken me so long to have that light bulb moment. I missed out on a lot because of my own self-imposed limitations that I could've done something about. I could've done track instead of dropping out or tried playing sports. Who knows what I could've accomplished! Don’t let that be you. I know some people may need to have that major life event to really look at where their lives are at but don’t let that be you. Take a hold of it now! Stop dreaming about when you’ll make that change or that next summer will finally be the summer you’ll be proud to wear your swimsuit at the pool. 

The holiday season is coming up? So what! Start now!