DDP!

Hawai'i, everything to do with Hawai'i fascinated me from the time I was a child, living on a large acreage in Michigan. During the summer I would go out into the fields & gather straw to make grass skirts for my Barbie dolls. Then, I would find flowers that were small enough to make small flower leis to put around their necks as well as crowns for their heads. I'd get a strip of fabric, from moms sewing scraps, to tie around their chests to cover up their boobies.

Family members would tease me about it.

"Ha ha! Brenda thinks she's going to Hawai'i someday! Ha ha!"

"I don't want to go there, I want to live there!" I would retort.

"When I grow up, I'm going to move to Hawai'i and leave all a y'all behind!!!"

(Daddy was from West Virginia, I had a slight southern lilt)

O yeah, they laughed at me, they weren't laughing when I actually did it. That seems to be one of the ribbons that weaves it's way through my life. Part of my own personal tapestry, if you will.

When I entered into the US Air Force, I filled out a form commonly called a dream sheet, telling the assignment office where you would like to go for your first assignment. There were no guarantees, yet, I like to think they took it into consideration.

There are seven spaces for writing seven choices. I put seven different assignments in Hawai'i for my preferences.

So......my first assignment was Hickam AFB, Honolulu, Hawai'i!!!!

All the dreams, hopes, longing, desires, wishes I'd had. They all came true! I sure wish I could have seen all of the looks on the faces of the people who taunted me, told me it wouldn't happen!

Kinda like when I was 12 years old and wanted to have my ears pierced, so I could wear earrings for pierced ears, not the clunky clip ons that my grandmother gave me. The earrings for pierced ears were lighter, more delicate, prettier. They stayed in even if I was running. I was an active, skinny, country girl. I was ALWAYS running everywhere I went. I was constantly losing the earrings. I had a lot of energy, could never sit still. I still have that high energy, have learned how to use it!

There were a few girls at school, that had talked about piercing their own ears, I sat quietly, soaking up information. I had been asking my mother & grandmother to take me to get my ears pierced for over a year. They always told me that if I kept my bedroom clean for 3 months straight, one of them would take me to the doctor to get my ears pierced. I shared a tiny, cramped bedroom with my 2 sisters. Even if I did my part, there was no guarantee that they would do theirs. Besides, how many 12 year olds keep their bedroom clean for even a month?

Mm Hm.

ZERO!

They were setting me up to fail.

Eff that noise!

So, I made a plan.

First I "procured" a pair of earrings for pierced ears.

Second, I dug around in my mothers sewing box for a needle to use. 

Third, I confiscated some cotton puffs & a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Hiding these, so that when I had the courage, I could go for it!

It was a Friday evening, after school. Daddy had gotten paid extra for the overtime he had worked. Mom had done the grocery shopping, we had a good dinner that evening. Everyone was in a good mood. Some of my relatives came over to visit, mom was sufficiently distracted. 

Retrieving the items to pierce my ears from their hiding place, I had to pass through the kitchen to the 1/2 bathroom where I was going to go, to pierce my ears. 

It must have showed on my face that I was nervous, excited, about to do something. I wear my feelings on my face, have always been that way. Mom saw me. She said~

"Brenda, you look like the cat that ate the canary, what are you up to?"

I knew I had to tell her the truth. 

"Aw, nothing, really, mom. I'm just gonna go pierce my ears."

My aunt stopped what she was doing, my mother stopped what she was doing, the dog started cowering. Shit was about to hit the fan!

She laughed, my aunt laughed, the dog ran to the back of the house!

Then, mom, very flippantly said,

"Okay, have fun. If it floats your boat. If it feels good, do it!"

WOW! 

I went into the bathroom, locked the door. I tried numbing my ears with ice, once before, it didn't do any good. This time, no ice. I positioned the needle in what seemed to be the right spot. Then, I began twiddling it with my fingers. 
DAM! 
It hurt, I was going to do this!

Finally, the needle was all the way through. I washed it and my ear lobe, with the cotton puff & alcohol. Then, I pierced the other ear. I did it!!!! Hah! I knew I was going to have to keep cleaning my ear lobes with alcohol so that they didn't get infected. I didn't want any "I told you so" from anyone.
Keep your room clean for 3 months, my ass! 

After being in the bathroom for 30 minutes, I came out. My mom & aunt looked at me. Then mom said,

"What were you doing in there for a half hour?"

I had to tell her!

"Oh, nothing. I just pierced my ears."

FULL STOP!

Mom, my aunt, a couple siblings, all were looking at me! In my defense, I cried,

"I told you what I was going to do!"

My aunt looked at me, then, at my mom. She came to my defense.

"That's right, Diane! (my mom) She told you what she was going to do and you said it was okay. You should know how Brenda is, by now! I hope to hell she's had a tetanus shot."

So....that's another theme for me, it seems. I'm a very tenacious person. When I really want to do something, I set my mind to it and there is just about no stopping me. It takes a lot if something does stop me. 

It's what drove me to teach myself to tie my shoes at 2 years old.

It's what gave me the ability to pierce my own ears.

It's what made me find a way to move to Hawai'i at 18 yrs of age

There have been many things I have done by driving myself, pushing myself, being so determined to do something.

It's this determination that drove me to lose over 150 lbs naturally with changing eating habits & grueling workouts. 
Sure, being so DDP gets me into trouble, sometimes. It's a part of who I am.

Drive

Determination

Perseverance

It's the babe life!