I am kind of mad at myself, I was so excited about blogging and I have let my blog fall off the face of the earth. My work picked up and LawDog’s schedule changed, not to mention a whole host of other things that have kept me from keeping up on my blog. I started catching up on my blog reading today with Ammo in the Dryer and A Police Wife; it got me energized to get back in the game.
Since September, I have been back to being a single mom 4 nights a week, this time it was a little difficult for me to adjust. I mean I am used to doing Tubbs and Crockett’s bedtime routine by myself, but I sure miss LawDog being around in the mornings to help out. I am definitely not on my A-Game, I can’t believe it took me two months to adjust.
Good thing I am on track because it just so happens that November 10th marked one of the most coveted days in Denver law enforcement……shift selections for 2011. Selection day(s) are the two days that will determine his shift, days off, sergeant and team for the next year, but most of all it will determine his happiness (or lack thereof) for the next 12 months. Now, as an outsider, I completely understand that there is a lot riding on this. I mean, to most it is a shift change, but to the family that it affects, it can turn your world upside down.
Does your husband take this as seriously as mine does? I mean it’s like a Fantasy Football Draft, they may as well publish a stats cheat sheet on all of the officers. My God, LawDog gets so stressed in the days leading up to the selection day. He worries about not having weekends off, and I have to remind him, that he hasn’t had weekends of in five years, what is another year without going to do? Then he plays the game of predicting which shifts others are going to pick, if so-and-so picks this shift, then these two are going to pick that shift and I am NOT working with those two.
Finally, the selection days arrive; Law Dog actually gets to make his selection early morning on day 2. One of his closest friends is posted at the PD, calling him every twenty minutes giving him status updates about who picked what. By the end of the first day of selections, we know a few things: number one, he will not have weekends off, number 2, that he is not going to pick the shift and days off that he currently is on and number three, there is only ONE shift left that he will be happy with. Let the sleepless night begin. Everything was riding on the five guys that picked before him the next morning.
I knew it was a big day for him; I sent him off a kiss and told him to call me as soon as he was finished. I was secretly praying that the ONE shift stayed available for him, because if not, he was going to be bitter and it was going to be a long year. Sure enough 8:15 AM my phone rings, I pick up and say an apprehensive hello and hear I GOT IT! Not only did he get his shift, but he is really happy with his sergeant and ecstatic about his team, in fact he calls it the "dream team". Thankfully, the five guys that picked before him all took watch 1 (daytime) shifts.
If you are not married to a police officer, all of this stress may seem silly and may not make sense to you. Your world probably stays pretty predicable year in and year out, with the occasional turnover of a co-worker or boss. You don’t really have to think about things like, would I want that guy in the next cubicle to be my partner on an armed robbery or a high speed chase, or would I want that woman from the second floor to back me up if we ran on a gang fight?
If you are married to a police officer you will understand. There really aren’t a lot of people that I would trust my husband’s life with, I'll sleep better knowing he is with the dream team. For me and my family, ahhhhhhhh the world is right for 2011!
