Delete the Adjective by Lisa Jaster

Author:Lisa Jaster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Delete The Adjective
Published: 2023-01-24T00:00:00+00:00

The Athena 3

Three women and several men were invited to start over. All three women said, “Yes,” and the men all declined. I’m not mad at the guys who said, “No, thanks.” Being offered a “Day One restart” is akin to throwing a drowning person an anvil.

So it was down to Shaye Haver, Kristen Griest, and me. I dubbed us the “Athena 3.” Coming into our restart, I barely knew them. But now, we did everything together and quickly got close. I didn’t have a lot of people, other than Allan and my family, that were full-time friends. Most people only knew a version of me—the nerd, the current-events junky, the gym rat, etc. These ladies were cut from the same cloth, so they understood ALL of me.

I felt like the big sister. I wanted to shelter and protect them from so many things, even though they were the most competent women I had ever met. I told too many stories about Allan. I wanted them to know men exist that truly love and support strong women while remaining strong themselves. I wanted to show that although it was hard to have two driven people in one family, it was possible. It was also okay to find that loving, supportive partner that wasn’t driven and would rather raise you up while sitting in the shadows. But that needed to be a conscious decision before walking down the aisle.

We were the only three Day Ones, which soon became our title. “Day Ones!!!” could be heard being bellowed throughout Camp Rogers frequently. The rest of the recycles would not have to go through RAP week again. We would.

Early during our time in Vaughan’s Platoon, the First Sergeant (1SG) pulled the Day Ones aside to check on our status. The fact that there were only three of us increased our visibility, and any incident involving us would incite a media shitstorm. During our conversation, he also asked how the barracks situation was working for us. We let him know that having three people on one side and fifty-seven on the other was unfair, especially when seven of them were sleeping on cots rather than beds.

After our candid discussion, 1SG lightened the segregation regulations. Thank God! Integration through segregation never worked and never would. We set up the barracks so we could sleep separated but otherwise combined with the guys. We blocked off one end by opening a couple locker doors, giving us complete visual privacy. When we were not changing, we closed the doors. We weren’t ostracized, and the guys weren’t mad at us for them having to sleep on cots.

Athena 3 was here, and we weren’t broken.

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