9:00 on a Tuesday night. He and I are bantering back and forth who is luckier to be married to the other. I think I am the blessed one, he thinks he is the one who's blessed. Yeah, that's the kind of fights we have! Lame, I know. It's kind of relaxed around here when he's not on-call. And then the phone rings. "Hey, man. Sure. Yeah. Whatcha got? Where at?" And with that my evening with my LEO is over. I hurry up and ice the cake we have to take to church tomorrow night in case I don't have time tomorrow while he runs down the things he hasn't done yet tonight. I remind him of our deal that he wear his vest on all scenes outside the office. "it's a secure scene, blah blah blah" Wear the dang vest. One more reminder...pray for [insert name]. With that, he was out the door.
The call of duty is what keeps their blood flowing. It is getting up in the middle of lunch to rush to a call. It is missing your kid's concert because you had a call at 3:45 and it required you to process the scene, interview multiple suspects and witnesses, and then type a narrative while the facts are fresh in your mind. Call of duty is getting called to a scene where there are people milling around, taunting, yelling, cursing, and there is not a thing you can do about it. You are called into their neighborhood because of a crime, but they don't want you there. Your safety is actually at risk for responding to a cry for help.
These LEO's give up things that "civilians" don't realize. Holidays, birthdays, vacations, meals, sleep, these are all luxuries. My LEO wasn't on call this week, yet if the need is there, he answers the call. I would work overtime if asked, but I don't think there is going to be a call at 4:00 am for an emergency permit. I don't think they will call me on the weekend while I am watching a movie with my girl and ask me to come in. I have been at lunch with him and his partners when a bank robbery call came in. They had not even taken a bite yet. I gathered their food and packed it to go, then dropped it off on their desks at the 57. I can recall times when we were poised to walk out the door for an outing when the phone rang...duty calls.
I am not bitter about his job in the least. His job is as much of who he is as the freckles on his skin. His job defines our lives and I am so entirely and completely proud of what he does. I am bitter that he gives up so much and expects so little, yet the one free thing people can give him is respect and withhold it. I am aggravated that he had to park his unmarked car several doors down from the donut shop the morning he wanted to surprise his daughter with donuts after he worked a stabbing all night. He said it wasn't worth the comments parking anywhere close to the store. He also had to hide anything PoPo on it and all because his mini-me wanted donuts.
Should I be more forgiving for those that know not what they do? Oh yeah, you betcha! Am I human? Sure sure! I am working on it.
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