It is my hope that everyone who is thinking of Katie from afar and praying for her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will be emboldened by her words.
Letter #8 Sunday, September ?
10th maybe?
Dear Ma, note: I #ed the pages
Oh man! First week up North = Done. Only 3 more to go, and only 2 more until the crucible. In 2.5 weeks I will be a Marine. That is blowing my mind.
As the time till I see y'all is growing shorter... I'm thinking of the petty things as well as the important! Could you bring me my bay hay hoody, the tan one, my 7s jeans, a bra, some underwear, a t-shirt or 2 and a pair of pjs? Oh! either my vuori joggers or gray patagonia sweats. Thank you, wildernest discounts. I cannot wait to see all of you. I've been day dreaming about it every day.
I've also been day dreaming about tuna fish... it's been my craving for the last 4 days or so. I fall asleep thinking about it. a bowl of tuna fish with mayo and pickles and things, and then crackers, that's all I want.
Oh! One of the girls got lice. So since Friday we have been kinda quarantined. But! It seems to be mostly gone (I don't have it) and it means that us girls have to wash our hair every day, and our hair/buns don't have to be neat. So, I've been able to wash my hair and sleep with it down for the last 2 nights. My waves came out STRONG so some of the girls have put product in it. I woke up for fire watch and it was crazy-wavy. Then I wrapped it in a sad little twist bun w/ no gel. I love it. It's giving my scalp a break.
Another thing, I already mentioned it, but would you be able to send me 2 weeks worth of contacts once I get back to MCRD? For the last 2 weeks I can wear contax. That will be amazing.
We have had 2 hikes so far. They are so much easier than I thought. Our packs only weigh 40lbs. right now & the waist straps actually fit. We have had a 5k and an 8k. Supposedly the weight will increase w/ the distance, but we only have 2-3 more hikes before the crucible, so I don't know how much they will pack on & how quickly. We don't march much here, we "step it out" which means to walk in formation. We are walking w/ our war belts on, which are belts that hold our 2 canteens, a pouch for extra stuff, and 3 magazine pouches which are currently full of empty mags. We also wear our assault pack which is probably about 30L and our rifle, which is 8lbs.
The daily carry (ha!) weight adds up, and we half walk and half run, so by the end of the day, we are all exhausted and our bodies ache. Ice and muscle rub are our best friends. I'm not broken, but my body is starting to ache a bit. I'm getting stronger though. I love it.
The food rations here up north are much smaller than MCRD though. So we are always hungry. I'm getting used to that. I will east so much food when I come home. Soooooo much food. I can't wait. TUNA! my stomach is growling just thinking about it. Jack was right though. The food here is better quality, but we get less of it. Once we get down south though... oh man. What I thought was a short time to eat there is an eternity here. And apparently, once you're a marine you can go back for seconds. :) Can you tell I'm hungry?
I love you so much. Once more thing you would appreciate: we hike early in the morning. Wake up @ 4 and start the hike around 5 or 5:30, with the whole company. We hike & watch the sunrise. There aren't mountains here, just hills, but very few people share the same perspective. There are only a couple of us that know mountains like the Olympics, or apalachians, or anything in Colorado, so we hang near the back & lift some peoples packs up the hills.
(Katie's letters are often written on varying sizes and styles of paper within the same letter, but the letter usually starts with a certain type and finishes with something else. This time however, she staggered back and forth which made me glad she numbered all of them!)
I apologize for the random paper! When you try to sneak letter writing, you write on whatever you have. I lamanated (is that how you spell it?) our family pictures & the one of you (mom) and I on the couch. I keep it in my pocket all the time. I love it. (I just took a short pull up break)
When does school start? How are the boys feeling going into it? I read in your last letter about Woodward and how you were gearing up for it. I love those teachers so much, tell them hello for me. heart
I just read a really sweet letter from my friend Collin who is at Westpoint right now. He just finished his basic training "initiation" and had some relatable things to say. Most of the letter though he dedicated to motivating and supporting me. He talked about physical and spiritual endurance & motivation. He had a handful of deep and meaningful things to say. He then wrote out 3 bible verses he thought would speak to me: Matthew 7:13-14 and Isaiah 6:8. I guess only 2 passages... but none the less, so meaningful. It is a letter I will keep close.
I love you so much. Give dad a hug for me, hug will & ben for me (tell ben I named my rifle after him because I think of him everytime I pick it up!) and have them all give you a big hug from me. I love all of you so much. The count down begins.
Your daughter and sister,
Katie
(Do not worry about missing the phone call, we would have both balled on the phone for like 5 minutes! I'm grateful you got to hear my voice heart or what I have left of it. It's a little hoarser than when I left. I will see you soon. heart)
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