Seize The Day...

It's unusual for us to attend more than one funeral every so many years, and yet this past week I have attended two.  The first was for my Aunt Janice; an amazing woman, wife, mother and friend whose life touched so many people.  It was a challenge to me to focus on what was important...like Aunt Janice did, and spend my time investing in people.  The second funeral was for a man I did not know personally, but because he was a Police Officer I went in support of his family and the other Officers (including David) who were going to pay their respects.  It was a stark reminder of the reality that faces each of us who are wives of Officers, or firemen, or anyone who lays their life on the line every single day that they go in to work.  Talking with my friend Alicia (her husband works with David) we came to this conclusion. This is not a job so much as a lifestyle, and one that we didn't fully understand until we began living it.  There is a bond for other's "in blue" that I never understood before, definitely a brotherhood.  

My husband (and Alicia's too!) loves his job, and even the crazy hours that he works (3:30 pm to 2:15 am) and honestly I would rather have a crazy schedule and a happy husband than the other way around.  After the big storm we had it was more evident than ever that families of officers are often "on our own" for the sake of the public.  David was not home during the storm, and even though my thoughts were for my kids at first, my heart skipped a beat until I could get through to David, when I realized that he was out in the storm.  He and I did not have a chance to really talk until several days after the storm and I found that my survival instincts had kicked in; I hadn't allowed my real feelings to kick in until I was sure everyone was safe.  As Dave and I sat on the couch I burst into tears; angry that once again I was alone during a time when it would have been more than nice if David was here. Decisions had to be made, and David wasn't available for me to bounce things off of.  He was angry too, but for different reasons.  He was powerless to keep us safe, forced to guard the safety of others while he had no clue what his family was going through.  For a man, that's tough.   

We realized that we have to give each other and the kids over to the Lord every single day. And when David crawls into bed next to me at 2:30 or whenever, I thank God he made it home safe.  I don't know that I'll ever be okay with the public coming first in situations like these, but Dave and I could look back on the situation, compare stories and be proud of each other for the way we handled this one.  More than ever I am grateful for the fact that David and I are a team; a team that only God knew would work.  

All that to say that I have been looking for ways to seize the day and enjoy David and the children every single day.  Some days are easier than others, but it helps when I stop to realize that our time here on earth really is short...only what's done for Christ will last.  Seize the day!