I'm Back in the Saddle

Picture from Google Images

I have noticed a trend in the police wife bloggers I follow….we have all dropped off the map.  I’m not even sure if I was ever on the map and I need to fix that.  Blogging is hard for me.  After I get home from work, cook dinner, bathe kids, read books and put kids to bed, well, frankly….I ‘m tired.  It’s not that don’t want to do it.  I am always experiencing things that I should write about; it’s just that I forget those things when I get a minute to sit down and write about it.  Plus, I’ll admit that I’m really self-conscious about my writing.  I’m always questioning my grammar and sentence structure; then add to that, I always wonder, do you ladies even really care what I write about?

Of course you do! That is why you are reading this.  Because when you boil it down all of us have one thing in common we’ve dedicated our lives to supporting a law enforcement officer….and all that comes with it.  So, I am making the commitment to get back in the saddle and I hope you will read about it, comment on it and share your own stories.

 Here’s to us, cheers! Oh, and stay tuned for an update on The Law Dog family.

P.S. I am on the hunt for some new [to me] police wife blogs. I'll see you out there.

Reality Smacks Again

When Law Dog is on duty he usually calls me once he gets out on the street.  We chat about Tubbs and Crockett and the shenanigans they pulled before bed and then I always say, “Have a good night, I love you.”

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Law Dog was working all kinds of over time.  A couple weeks ago, he was working an overtime shift and it was the last shift he was working before the schedule change.  He was going to have a few days off before he started his new schedule.  Before he left he said he was going to lay low and make it a quiet night.
 
Fast forward a couple hours, I had just put Tubbs and Crockett to bed, washed my face and plopped down on my bed for some me time.   I turned on the TV to catch some local news before I went to sleep.  The top story was a shooting that had just happened in a bar right in Law Dog’s sector.   My heart skipped a beat; I hit rewind (thank you DVR) to watch the story again.  The news said the owner of the bar and a few of the patrons had a scuffle, and when the bar owner tried to escort them out of the bar one of the patrons pulled out a gun and shot the bar owner multiple times.  Of course the news says the bar owner is in critical condition and on his way to the hospital.  The gunman and his buddies loaded up in their cars and took off.  I looked at the time, it was about 9:45 (right when he gets out on the street) and immediately called him.  He picks up the phone and I said, “So much for a quiet night right?”  He said, “No chance of that happening.” He gave me the real scoop: the perps were in the bathroom doing some Schedule II’s, the bar owner caught them and wanted them out of the establishment, in the process of kicking them out one of the perps pulled out a gun and the bar owner was DOA.  So I said, “I know you are busy, be careful tonight, I love you.”

When we disconnected I got this sinking feeling in my stomach and the thought ran through my mind that this could possibly be the last time I spoke with him.  He was going to be out on the streets looking for a car full of high…armed …hoodlums who have nothing to lose; obviously they are not afraid to pull the trigger and take someone’s life.  If anyone will dig them up in the most randomness of places it will be Law Dog.  Of all nights for something like this to happen, a night that he was not supposed to be working, and should have been home with us.
 
Dark thoughts came pouring in to my mind like if something were to happen to him, would he know how important he is to me and much I would miss him?  How would I explain this to Tubbs and Crockett?  Would they know how great their dad truly is? I lay down in my bed and tears started streaming down my face. Who would notify me if something happens to him? There goes reality again, smacking me in the face. OUCH.  Has this ever crossed your mind?

They never did catch those bastards that night.  A family was left without husband, dad and a grandfather and so much unanswered.
 
But my family unit moves on whole and thriving….just taking it day by day.

In Memory of Deputy Samuel Kent Brownlee

Google Images

Colorado lost a law enforcement officer on November 23.  His name was Sheriff Deputy Samuel Kent Brownlee; he was a 43 year old husband, father of two and a step father to two more.  Law Dog did not work with Deputy Brownlee and I did not know him personally, but I do know that this man is a hero; the newspaper describes him at a “giant boy scout”.  Just two weeks ago, he ran in to a burning building just to make sure there was no one else inside.  Last week Deputy Brownlee was dispatched to a domestic dispute that lead to a high-speed car chase, then to a wrestling match and ultimately to Deputy Brownlee being shot three times with his own gun.  I am not even going to waste my energy talking about the dirt bag that caused this; another police officer shot and killed him.  If you want to read the whole story, you can read it at: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16734674.

When Law Dog became a police officer I was often asked, “Don’t you worry about him getting killed?”  My answer was always no.   I look at my husband as Superman, when he puts that uniform on he becomes invincible.  But the reality is he is not, no one is.  Incidents like this make me realize how dangerous this job really is.  One simple call can change so many lives forever.   I for one, will hugging my husband a little bit longer before he leaves each night and making sure he knows just how important he is to me. 

My heart goes out to Deputy Brownlee’s wife Heather and their four children.  Your husband is a true hero and his life will be celebrated in our household.  Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.

The Science of Shift Changes

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!

One Sweet Birthday Present

via www.amazon.com

I love finding new police gear for Tubbs and Crockett.   It’s so hard to find, I purchase pretty much everything I come across.  Clothes, toys, you name it I will buy it…unless of course, it is completely lame.  So I will share things when I come across them.  Lucky you today is one of those days. 

Crockett just turned three.  So Law Dog and I decided it was time to purchase a bike.  Like any parent I start doing some research.  My research usually consists of consulting with my BFF because she has a five year old so she has just been through it.  I mention that I want to get Crockett a bike for his birthday.  I am thinking the kid loves anything Cars, so it is a no brainer to get the Lightening McQueen bike with training wheels.  Then BAM, my BFF hits me with, training wheels are evil.  Once your kid starts with them, it is really hard to get them off.  OK so what are you supposed to do? She introduces me to the Glider or Balance bike…..a bike with no pedals.  Wait, a bike with no pedals?  I had never heard of this before. So I start doing some research.

I’ll be honest, I was sold as soon as I saw this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga72-ASP1uM

Now, I want Crockett to exude the awesomeness that this kid has.  I immediately order the glider bike.  I am hyped about it, I tell everyone I know about it….a bike with no pedals, it’s amazing.

The glider bike arrives during Crockett’s birthday party and I am thinking that this couldn’t be more perfect.  Law Dog and Opa go in to the garage put it together and bring it back in just in time for presents.  Crockett gets a Lightening McQueen helmet and a bell from Oma and Opa and he gets a vanity plate from my BFF.  I can’t wait to see the look on Crockett face when he actually gets the bike.  Law Dog puts the bike in front of Crockett.  Crockett seems excited, but everyone at the party starts saying…..where are the pedals, there are no pedals on that bike (it was like a Seinfeld moment).  We take Crockett outside, strap on the new helmet, put the bell and the vanity plate on the bike….I mean the kid is ready to go.  We sit him on the bike and he throws a fit, “There’s no pedals on this bike, I want pedals!!!”  He won’t have anything to do with it.  A week passes, he still won't have any thing to do with it.

The upside to the story I have a five year old neighbor who started riding it around last Saturday, within two hours she had picked it up.  By Sunday, the training wheels were off her bike.  I just lent the bike to my BFF so her daughter could use it.  I expect her training wheels to be off within the next week.  So it is a great buy, I highly recommend it.  Just don’t make a big deal about the pedals. 

Now for the police gear, I later found a Police Balance Bike, super cute…enjoy!