The Best Day You Had Last Week...
was Sunday. I had completed Day One of a shooting class with some amazing instructors and my sons and husband. The instructors were "high speed, low drag" and really (not exaggerating at all) the REAL DEAL. I mean famous for their abilities and instructional prowess. See Ken Hackathorn and Larry Vickers on any Social Media or Google search you desire.
In any event, Saturday was HARD. I established myself as the worst student in the class within the first twenty minutes. I tried not to beat myself up and embraced the growth model that I had no where to go but up!! At lunch, my hubs dropped the bomb that he "forgot" to tell me this was an advanced class.... ummmm... you're kidding, sweetness? But at the same time, this made me feel better. My classmates were (for the most part) experts and I was whatever comes below novice. We continued working and practicing and doing drills that had my head twisted in about a million directions. I never felt unsafe but was certainly pushed way outside my comfort zone and skill set. That evening, we practiced in lowlight (called DARK where I grew up in Chicken City, USA). This was hard because you had to maneuver your pistol and hold a flashlight at the same time. My spastic hands struggled, but we safely executed the drills and my instructors gave me pointers and told me exactly what I was doing wrong.
Our parting words for the evening were "you will sleep like a baby, tonight".
I must have taken it as a personal challenge because sleep evaded me for a good portion of the hours "off". Instead my brain was replaying every lesson, pep talk, and critique. I WANTED to be better and that heart-felt desire kept the Sandman from fully taking residence in my eyes. I slept with a little secret dread of "having to do this a-whole-nother day."
Sunday, instead, emerged with no rain or ugly fog to contend with. My clothes and gear felt "more right" than they ever had and I was ready to face the day. I found myself enjoying the experience and watching others to see if they made similar errors that I did. One instructor was not feeling well and I enjoyed seeing how the pair took up the slack for the other because they were genuinely friends. I listened to the stories and instruction and found myself looking at my watch NOT to hurry the time away but wishing it could last just a bit longer. Our final drill confirmed that I had improved and had learned from the experience. My time and my accuracy was better.....not great...not perfect.. but better.
In a total touch of class and professionalism, Mr. Hackathorn addressed each student (34, I think) by name and gave us a compliment and something to work on. IMPRESSIVE and a model for me as a teacher.
The crazy, ironic thing about the entire experience is this... I worried about it!! A LOT!! before coming. But instead of just worrying, I practiced and strategically planned for errors and how to rectify them. I acquired materials and equipment to be as ready as possible and did not (okay.. tried not to) voice my concerns too often or to too many people. I put action to anticipation and goodness emerged. I MUST REMEMBER THIS as I will always remember this experience.
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