Too much to do!

One of the down sides of being married to a cop is that it often seems like  I am the only one to do anything around the house.  Several books talk about the cops inability to make decisions at home because they make split second decisions all day long! Well, I am a teacher, and  I answer questions ALL DAY LONG!  I too am incapable of deciding what is for dinner, don't ask me!

So what do we do?

Make the list!

T-rex and I spend a good part of our time together planing.  So you know, like the total of 5 minutes we have together!

T-rex:  What's the plan this week?

Me:  Huh? Is that a question?  DON'T ask questions.

T-rex:  I have Wednesday off. . . .

Me: Fine, we will go shopping that day.

T-rex:  Like a date?

Me:  That is a sad date   *googles grocery lists*


We have mastered the quick communication!  Date night is important, but often does combine some chore.  No matter, it is time alone, and the drive to town is our time to reconnect.  We talk about everything, work, kids, dreams, goals, people that tick us off, and plans to take over the world.

I also suggest getting a home binder to keep everything in order. Anything would work!  I have really liked this one from Amazon, but before that we just used a spiral notebook with lists, and notes to each other.  We kept it on the kitchen counter and checked it as we got ready for our day. . . . no matter what time that was.

Love of Old dead people

Falling in love with some old dead white dude.


It really is what History Teachers do.

But OMG why did I not have a class on President Garfield!!

He is awesome!

I love the way he wrote.
They all wrote so nice "back in the day"
Could be my new Favorite President.

All because of the book  Destiny of the Republic.  WOW.

Just get the book and see how cool he is!

When a Cop gives advice does it always end in some type of "EH" I don't let that bother me?

So kinda a long title, but that is where I am at.  I have had some problems with "clients" at work.  So okay students. .  .their parents. . . .

I love what I do all day, but there are times where I feel far less than capable, and it gets hard when no one ever says "yeah you are a good teacher!"

T-rex does not have advice to help this.  He always ends it with "Eh, I just don't let that bother me anymore"

WTH?

That does not help!!  Do you know what would help. . . Chocolate, a nap, some flowers, tickets for everyone who annoys me. . . .You know the things like that.

OHHH but I better not joke about that. . . .or anything ..  .. I wish everyone had a cop's idea of funny.  It would make things much easier if no one would get offended.

Oh and  I bet it is easy to let things go when you know if it gets really bad you CAN give a ticket, or something. . .But that is just a theory.

I need this for like all Life things!!  

http://www.zazzle.com/smokykitten

How to get stuff done when your cop is sleeping during the day

How to get stuff done when your cop is sleeping during the day:

1. Don’t

2. Eat cake and watch bad TV (on low volume)

3. Take a nap

4. Turn into that person who vacuums at 10pm

5. Dream of day shift

6. Find out Day shift also stinks (I had the whole bed to myself!!) 

We rotate shifts here, and there are good and bad to all of them. On Nights I do love the bed to myself, I am a night person. But I also hate that he is not home, that I cannot make sure T-rex is okay.

On Days I could get things done around the house or whatever. I also know what time he should be home and we can eat together. I have to share my bed! He snores. The Dogs want to sleep with him.

I would say that my least favorite shift is Mids. He goes from 1:30-1:30. What the heck!! No meals together, No bed time together, no seeing the kids after school, and when did he really get home?! Then he sleeps all day. It is an evil shift. I hate mids.

I lied, there is not good and bad to all of them, One of them is a dumb shift that I hate.

http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-work-the-night-shift/

It is easy to get caught up in the slow pace of the small town. A place where a DUI, some kids at a party, and cow calls are a busy day. There is a feeling of no worry, if the officer is late getting home it is because he was talking with the guys at the office, not because something happened that he now has to deal with.



HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH



I cannot lie, most days are clam. But even after all the deaths, parties, DUIs, fights, and so on T-rex has had to deal with, we had a new one. A chase. I don’t know what it is about this area, but people actually think they can run?! A chase scares me. Just NO. I don’t want it to happen. It seems like nothing good can come out of going 80mph on a dirt farm road. 

At the end of the day the other officers congratulated T-rex for making it into his first chase. I did the only thing I could. I told him No.

I don’t think it ever does get any easier. Perhaps it even gets harder with time. The bew bew bew sound of the radio alarm goes off with a painful cry. The kiss goodbye almost feels ere, not comforting. This was the first early morning call out in our small town after the many police shootings in our nation. This was the first in our small town where the suspect had a gun. This was the first I overheard what was happening. I liked it better when the officers were called on their phone. This also was going to take place just two blocks over. I remind myself that the town is so small, everything is just a few blocks over. I remind myself that the call was going happen if I heard it or not, and now I was able to help pull out boots. I remind myself that gun are not bad. I remind myself that a kiss goodbye happens on good days. I remind him to put a vest on. I remind him I love him.




Outside my window I can hear more and more of our officers running to the danger. I know he is not alone. I know that good will prevail today, at any cost. It is that cost I am sick of paying. It feels deeply personal every time an officer pays that price. It is my family. It is a person who would do anything to keep me safe. We have already paid too much, our blue family may come home, but it is never over.

I have never really had much to say about gun laws. I usually feel inadequate expressing sorrow for a tragic event such as what happened in the elementary school today. But over the last several hours I have been able to look at the events and my own life, like we all have. For the first time in years I cried for children I did not even know, but I cried for my own also. My children are the same ages as the children in that school, something not unique to me. My children could have been there. It is easy to put myself in the shoes of the parents who lost a child today, or a parent who was so blessed to bring their child home. The trauma all the children now face is beyond my ability to understand. There is a fake news site (one that I personally cannot stand) that posted an article about the events, they put into worlds quite well what I think most people are feeling right now “Fuck this shit I can’t fucking deal with it!”  Yep. That really is all we can say right now. The best thing I have ever been told when I was facing a loss of my own was “Well, This suck!”  Because it does, but nothing anyone says or does will undo what was done.  I don’t think this is the time to start the argument over “more guns or less guns” “more God, or more tolerance, and understanding” Truth be told, I wanted more guns in the RIGHT hands and less guns in the criminal hands.  I prayed and I cannot understand or tolerate what happened.

But because the topic of Gun control, and such has come up it has be on my mind today as well. I don’t think we as a nation can make an emotional choice on this topic, and I know we are highly charged emotionally. When looking at the data, the understanding of good and evil, the mindset of people, teachers, cops, and others there is no simple solution to this problem we have.  Here is what I know: Gun crimes kill more people when the good guys don’t have a way to protect themselves. Every choice we make has the potential to snowball into dire states. Let us say we unarm all of America, Crime WILL go up, the government WILL become too powerful, Innocent people WILL die, more children WILL die.  Do not be like the Jews and say “That cannot happen!”  Because it can, it has, and it WILL again if we let it.

Let us say we take the other extreme and arm the teachers and school staff. Let’s start out with just one armed officer at each and every school. Things will take time, but the schools WILL become a prison, the students will be taught by the military (not called the military clearly!)  But order WILL be held at all times, with an armed guard. Our governments WILL dictate more and more of what a student can and cannot do, learn, and think, and before we know it our nation will be enslaved by propaganda.

So what is the solution?  Go back to homeschooling?  No, there are cases that show that is no safer.  Embrace the arming of everyone?  Maybe?  Unarm everyone? (I want a fighting chance against my enslavement thank you very much!) No.  The simple truth is that there is NO solution. Good and evil will always fight for balance. There will always be sick unhealthy people out there. And the sad truth is that this SUCKS, but there is nothing that can be done to stop it.  What we can do is the best we can do to keep ourselves safe, our children safe, and understand that life really does just suck at times. Raise YOUR children the best you can, love strong, forgive always.