Treadmill perspective of the day: So I took the last few weeks “off” so to speak, to spend time with the Munch man as we learned the ins and outs and dos and don’ts of having a service dog. Of course, it wouldn’t meet the standards of our chaotic family if this major change didn’t come during the most hectic time of our lives, which of course, it did. Completely unrelated to receiving the dog, our family has been going through one of the most stressful times the past few weeks with some extended family issues that have us shaking our heads and praying for strength and answers and making us want to buy a one way ticket to expat land and never look back. I think I have quoted “If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it” about a thousand times over the last few weeks. And it wouldn’t be our life if all of this change and stress didn’t come during the hubz’ busiest two weeks of the summer with extra shifts, holiday hours, mandatory overtime, several weekend long tournament security jobs on top of it all, and the heat which brings out the crazy in everyone to boot, making for very exhausting shifts and a whole lot of paperwork. Needless to say… it’s been rather tense around here. And you know, we’ve been more than on edge, but one thing I have learned never to forget is that Bervis and I are in this together. Regardless of what life throws our way, we are a team. The moment we allow an obstacle in our lives to be used as an excuse to disrespect one another, or to dictate how we interact with one another, is the moment we are doing it wrong. And certainly there have been moments of frustration and sheer emotional exhaustion wherein we both just needed our space to try and absorb some of it, but we both have made the choice to regroup and work together, knowing this too shall pass and we will look back on this in a year or so and it will be just another blip in the big scheme of our lives. I have to say (and I wish it weren’t so because of why it is so), but I always come back to the reality of our lives in law enforcement as my reality check. There is so much on our plate right now and so much of it seems to be a struggle we shouldn’t be facing…. I’ll be first to admit I’m having a hard time not embracing my own entitlement to whinitis at the moment… life isn’t fair all the time and it is a reality which slaps me in the face each and every time I log in to “The Police Wife Life” or any time I open an email or message or simply look at my “friends” list on Facebook. I am immediately reminded that although my struggles at the moment are legitimate and very real, there is so much we have to be thankful for….such as being alive to go through the struggles of life. So much of what I do for awareness and change for law enforcement is due solely to that 53 hour reality. Every 53 hours one of us isn’t blessed enough to share those life struggles with our loves any longer. It’s real easy to say “think about the big picture” when we are not struggling. It’s real easy to talk the talk when we’re walking along rose lined paths. But it is the trials which come that test us. It is when our faith is tested, and when frustration and stress fill our days, and when our path is full of thorns and finding our way seems impossible that keeping our eye on the big picture is key. Owning our responsibility for our own actions and reactions to those we love, honoring those we are life partners with in that cliché of good times and bad, being mindful that we are on the same team, regardless of what life brings our way, and remaining determined to love, honor and cherish those who mean the most to us, is the true test of keeping our eyes on the big picture. Despite all life hurdles, I am blessed to wake up a wife today, my love made it through another 53 hours. So many of our Blue family cannot say the same. There’s nothing worth giving a second of our lives together over to the negativity which can easily strip us of the time we have to make memories. ~Mel ©TPWL
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 14:42:46 +0000
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