I hesitantly write this post. Our world and the people I live in it with are in a bad place. I don't think this comes as a shock to anyone. My heart is hurt and my mind is reeling from all the devastation and hate surrounding us.
I have not known what to like, share, or post on social media about any of the atrocities throughout the world as of lately. So I haven't. However my silence (rare for me) is powerless, holding great and loud volume.
Last night I awoke with a fright. Was it a nightmare? No, it was a reality, one in which I so wish I could have called a nightmare.
Years ago I had felt strongly that I needed to see the other side of foster care, the side in which the kids came from. With a passion for volunteering and a great respect for our law enforcement I applied to be a police reserve officer. I could do all of this with a family of men and women who unbeknownst to me would teach me far more than I could have dreamed. Quickly I saw the other side as I wished, far faster than I had hoped and much too up close. As we would leave a call and get back in the squad I would look at the officer sitting next to me preparing for the next call. They did not even have time to feel the heaviness of what we just experienced. They placed that emotion safely away in an invisible holding cell only to be let out when the world didn't need them. My admiration for these men and women grew with each and every call. They went to school for law enforcement with the harsh reality that that is a far stretch from the ocean size job they have. I watched rape victims frozen in fear be calmed, family members of victims feel heard and given undivided attention, violent jerks treated with the utmost respect, and children removed from homes by loving arms. If you look closely in their eyes at these moments there are tears, the ones that refuse to fall for if they start they may never stop. These men and women counsel, referee, laugh, problem solve, teach, and so much more with every shift they work.
My fright that woke me was that these men and women are being broken down. What if we didn't have them? I fear that society is losing sight of this what if. They are the ones who run towards the gunfire, into buildings ablaze, after the killers, and refuse to give up until justice is served. We need them and yet take them for granted. Why? This question plagues me and before we go crazy with accusations based on something we hear or saw reported stop and think who are you going to trust if your child is kidnapped, or your house is  broken into? Sad as these thoughts are this is reality and we live in a broken world that is a better and safer place with our men and women of law enforcement. They would and do take bullets for you every day. They leave their homes and kiss there spouses and children goodbye not knowing if that is the last time - for us!