Giving...

"We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give."  - Winston Churchill

Good old Winston, definitely coined that phrase didn't he!  It felt strangely appropriate tonight I sit with suitcases (never mind bags) under my eyes, a dull ache on my right arm from my mad archery skills, my nose and cheeks full of freckles and wind burn and a big smile on my face from a fun filled weekend!

Once upon a time when I was a hormonal-angry-at-the-world-for-no-real-reason 13 year old, I sat in an assembly at high school and a girl told us all about this thing she went to called "Air Cadets".  

Fast forward 22 years and I think Air Cadets is now part of my DNA.  I have lost track of the amount of people who ask "Why do you do it?"  I have lost track of the ways in which I smile and explain because "I love it!"  I always say how I wouldn't be the person I am now without cadets in my life,  and that's all because there were people doing #whatwedo back before the hashtag was even a thing!  They gave up their weekends, their annual leave from work, spent time away from their families, spouses, took paperwork home, spent nights writing risk assessments and planning parade nights and countless other things.

Now I'm an instructor I realise they weren't "giving up" they were giving because someone gave for them.  The majority of us crazy folk who volunteer at Air Cadets are ex-cadets, we've lived the horror of not putting our tent up before the rain came, cooking beans and pasta on trangias, getting lost in a field because we didn't quite pay as much attention in naviagtion lessons as we did to what lynx the cute corporal was wearing... :)  

We have sat up until the early hours on RAF stations polishing our shoes until we could see our faces in them.  We have marched on parade square and streets, through cities, towns and villages in our finest ironed uniforms and been proud to be part of something bigger than we are.  We have covered our faces in cam cream and hidden in trees and bushes, we understand the impact of Shape, Shine, Shadow, Silhouette, Spacing and Movement just as we've slept under the stars and suffered the inevitable blocked pores and terrible skin as we didn't wash because we wanted to look "war-ry".  

The lucky ones of us have soared on high in all manner of aircraft, Chipmunks, Bulldogs, Vigilants, Nimrods, Sea Kings, Chinooks to name a few, some have even done flying and gliding scholarships and gone on to be pilots!  We have kayaked, skiied, abseiled and climbed, we've learned how to target shoot with rifles and we've learned to target shoot with bows and arrows.  We have played netball, rugby, hockey and football, we've thrown javelins and shotputs at athletics, half drowned during butterfly at Swimming and come in 3rd to last at Cross Country! 

We have made life long friends who share our memories, who understand what an ensign, a rank slide, Bader or a CWO is.  We all speak the same language.  I won't talk about the internal politics because this isn't a rant and everywhere has some kind of politics, but even then we accept that people won't always agree, and they'll want to play with their trainset in their own way.  And we've all taken pleasure in giving a radio guy heart failure by saying "over and out".... ;)

Cadets has been my lifeline, and there are times we've fallen out of favour, times when life has meant I couldn't give everything I wanted to give, times I have considered leaving, and times when I couldn't imagine my life without it.  There are friends who've grown weary, who've had their fingers burnt or just generally burnt out, and yes there is a life outside of the ATC, but right now I want in.  

When you can teach someone something, impart some knowledge, some small technique that they'll take with them into life, whether or not they remember that you taught them, you have left a small legacy in this world.  When I look back at my time as a cadet, I remember certain staff members, the way they looked after me, things they said in times when I couldn't drag my arse up a hill, the praise they gave me for a job well done and I feel proud that I'm part of that team.

As your old cadets grow up, leave and then they add you on Facebook and you see them living their dreams, travelling, university, qualifying, starting families, getting married, you wonder if they remember back to the time you were waiting at the end of their DofE with water and words of encouragement, if they remember the banter on the multitude of mini bus rides you took or the times they forgot canvas wasn't sound proof and you just heard every piece of gossip on squadron!

I love my cadet family, I love how you can meet someone on Saturday morning and by the end of Sunday you're devastated that you won't see them again for weeks, and that goes for cadets and staff, though as staff you're less likely to cry and have angst... :)

So now, as I tap away on my smart phone my eyes are closing and I can feel the much needed sleep I missed out on last night tapping me on the shoulder and saying "it's time", and at least if my bladder decides to wake me up again, it's only 10 steps to salvation and no zips, muddy boots or icicles!!

I guess the point of tonights blog is that if you can give, give.  And give without a desire to receive, because the rewards are countless, limitless and endless.