Leaving

I knew when I started this job that police work was tough. I knew there was a lot to it and I thought I had a grasp of what it meant to dispatch and be family to people you worked with. I was soooooo wrong.
In life there are relationships that come into your heart so slowly, so quietly that you don't realize the impact they have until crisis hits. Other relationships are built in an instant, in a single "shots fired" or "11-99". There are ties that bind far stronger than many others that have taken years of work to build up, and those ties are not easily broken.
The team of women in this department is made up of strong, determined, protective and caring individuals that have taught me so much. Not only have they been a constant resource on the job, but they have provided support, love and encouragement throughout the whole process of preparing for med school, military life, and the adoption. They are women I will remain close to for a lifetime and women that I hope to resemble in so many ways.
The "boys" are brothers I didn't know I had. There are some that have a nose for trouble and others that wait for the trouble to come to them, but they all want our world to be better. They all love the work, the humor that surrounds it, and the opportunity to make a differnece. They would give their lives for me, for any one of us. Those that I cherish most, I will carry in my heart forever. They will always be brothers and they will always be friends.
I walk away from this job a better person for having worked it. There are memories of voices I will never forget (everyone in law enforcement has those calls). Memories that I will carry with me always. Some sad, some terrifying, others hilarious. Most important are the memories of the people that helped pull me through those calls. The people that rolled their eyes with me, laughed with me, and cried with me.
I have done some pretty embarrassing things- totally accidental,like singing random songs of "la,la,la...." over the radio or mistaking VolvO's for Volv&%*$ (something else I am not going to type, but yes, that's it- I know- SOOOOO humiliating). I have barely taken a breath and fumbled over words trying to get "choking baby" calls out fast enough and I have sat in silence waiting for a code-4 from my officer's when I know they are in trouble.
Through it all, I have come to appreciate this work and the men and women in it. I would do it all again, a million times over, just to have met the people I now know to be friends.
Thank for the ride.