Being a Cop’s Wife

There are a few advantages of being a Cop’s wife…
1. The work rotation leaves several days during the week off so there is no need to pay a sitter.
2. The security of knowing that your husband knows what to do in a dangerous or emergency situation.
3. The confidence of your husband’s driving skills with your family in the car – since after all he drives all day long with no problem and can keep the car on the road going 100+ mph in a chase.
4. Hand cuffs are always readily available for kinky sex (I’m Kidding – but just as a quick plug - my mom does sell Surprise Parties if you ever wanted fuzzy cuffs or anything else like that).

There are also many disadvantages of being a Cop’s wife…
1. Bad shifts – although we have an advantage that Mark rarely works a night shift he does have to work many holidays that we have to work around.
2. Negativity – sometimes when people find out you are married to a cop you get the “I hate cops” speech.
3. Sometimes plans are changed – sure I may have a romantic dinner planned but every once in a while the day doesn’t end at 6 p.m.
4. Potential of your husband having to use deadly force on duty – my husband has had to do this twice in his career – very scary. (See “Fear of Single Parenthood”)
5. Potential of your husband not coming home at all…

Here lately there have been stories upon stories of cops being killed in the line of duty and occasionally even when they were off duty and just trying to help others that they thought were in need. It scares the crap out of me that there are so many people in the world that have no concern of another human’s life. Cops are not the bad guys, they are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers just like everyone else in this world. They work every day to keep us safe. Sure you may get pulled over for speeding but whose fault is that that you are breaking the laws and putting other drivers lives at risk??? Not the cops. It is not their fault that you are arrested for breaking the law – it’s yours! You have to live with the consequences of the choices you make. Cops merely do their job and often get a bad rep for it because people think it is unfair that they broke the laws and get caught for it. So many take it to the worst level by killing cops because they are cops. How absurd is that? That’s like someone taking my life because I’m an accountant and they owed taxes this year – stupid right? It’s no more my fault for your tax situation than it’s a cop’s fault that you broke the law.

A cop is more than someone writing tickets and arresting bad guys and if people actually got to know their police officers they would know that. They are the ones helping you when you are in an accident, or when your home is on fire (along side of firefighters), they are the ones running to gun shots when everyone else is running away, they are the ones simply changing your flat tire for the little old ladies who can’t do it themselves, they are the ones keeping your kids from being hit by cars and making sure they make it home safely when they sneak out of the house. There is this stereotypical view that cops are bad. We need to teach our kids the true value of police officer – quit buying them games like Grand Theft Auto where you get into gun battles and run from the police. I’m a firm believer that situations like this numb kids over time to the reality of the situation and they think it’s ok to do things like this in the real world.

I understand that my husband is in a line of work that is dangerous and that one day he might not come home from his shift because some ignorant SOB decided his crimes were more important than my husband’s life or because of an accident. I pray every day that he goes to work that this won’t happen to him but in the back of my mind I know the possibilities of this happening. While sometimes I wish my husband had a different job where I wouldn’t have to worry so much about his safety, I know that this is who he is regardless of a badge or a uniform.

If you don’t get anything out of this post, pay attention to this – this is a man, a son, a brother, a father, and my husband who is out there keeping you safe – don’t take him away because you are selfish – don’t think badly of him or anyone else in his profession because you can’t follow the laws. Pay attention to what you are doing – teach your kids right from wrong – and show respect for those who put their lives on the line to protect yours. They are Heroes!