08/20/2026
As my husband and I were out on a drive a few weeks ago, I found myself doing a little reflecting.
It hit me that when my son was just over a year old, I left for two weeks to help supervise a juvenile wildfire crew. The crew was made up of incarcerated youth who fought wildfires while learning the value of hard work, teamwork, responsibility, and job skills they could carry with them after the program. They worked incredibly long, exhausting days, and many of them expressed genuine gratitude for the opportunity and experience they gained.
They had made mistakes and there were victims affected by their choices, but they were also being given a chance to learn, grow, and become productive members of society. Sometimes all someone needs is an opportunity to do things differently.
While I wasn’t out digging fire lines alongside them, our job as staff was demanding in its own way. We worked long days and around the clock, doing laundry, making sure everyone was taken care of, and grabbing whatever sleep we could. Some nights we had a cool place to rest, while other times we were sleeping in a field, searching for a patch of shade from the relentless heat.
Who would have imagined that 22 years later—and now for the past two years—my son would be working those same fire camps as a firefighter, doing many of the same jobs?
I remember being away and missing that little one-year-old boy so much. Today, I sit at home praying for that same little boy—now a grown man—to stay safe and make it home after every shift.
It also makes me sad to think that programs like the one I was part of no longer exist because of funding and program cuts. It’s a shame that decisions like those are often made by people who never witnessed firsthand the impact these programs had. They didn’t get to see the growth, the hope, or the second chances being created. They saw numbers on a budget, but many of us saw lives being changed.
Just a little reflection—and maybe a little rant—but some memories have a way of reminding us how meaningful certain chapters of life really were.
