So while working last week I was going about my business. It was nearing the end of my shift but I saw a car that I was able to stop for a minor violation. Before I even exited my car, I saw an infant car seat in the back seat, and from where I was, it was evident this seat was not even close to being installed correctly. I contacted the driver and I told her why I stopped her. I then asked her about the infant and about the car seat and went in to my car seat lecture. If you know much about me, I have become somewhat of a car seat Nazi. I asked her if the base was secured with the latch system or seat belts. She seemed confused and finally stated it was in with seat belts. I then asked her older daughter in the back seat to try and wiggle the base of the seat. It had waaaay to much movement and give. I also saw the chest clip was at the baby' groin. I instructed her on the reason the chest clip needed to be at the chest. I returned to my car and made sure she had a valid driver's license. I also called for my partner to come to my stop since he is a certified car seat installer. I know how to put car seats in, but without that certification there is too much liability involved for me to do it. At that point I made the decision not to write her ANY traffic tickets, even though I could have had at least 3-4. She didn't need tickets, she needed a safe car seat install. My partner and I then went back and talked to her. She agreed to let him properly install the car seat. I also helped her with the chest clip placement and tightness of the straps. Her baby was beautiful. She had the flawless ebony skin with a little tuft of hair pulled into a tiny bundle with a little headband around her head. She also had cute little purple studs in her little pierced ears. She slept the whole time unphased by what was going on. I educated her on why we were doing what we were doing. She was soooo thankful. I noticed her infant seat was expired by around 2 years. If I had the extra money in my bank, I would have gone and gotten her a convertible seat on the spot since the baby was already 9 months old. Since I don't have the money to spare, I told her who she could talk to in order to get her sweet baby into a safe car seat. We finished the car seat install on the side of the road and sent her on her way. I finished my paperwork for the stop and went back to the station because it was time for shift change and time to go home. As I was checking my equipment back in, I pulled her license out of my back pocket. Luckily she told me where she was going so I called the shop real fast and the owner, who knew the driver personally, thanked me again for what we did for her friend and told me they would wait for me to get off work. I left and returned her license and was again thanked for helping her. It was a great feeling. Our job is not always about writing tickets. Sometimes it's about educating and often about helping. It warmed my heart to know that she was thankful for what we did in the interest of safety for her baby, I just wished that I could have done more to help.
A few days ago we got to participate in some force on force active shooter training. It was great training. Even though it wasn't "real," it still got the adrenaline going. I didn't get hit with any simunition rounds, but I about took a headshot at the hands of a "bad guy" waiting at the top of the stairwell. That put some reality in to it. That is why I don't like stairwells. I dove back around the wall for cover and my team and I gathered ourselves and pressed on. The "shooter" had retreated so we had to find him, which we did. He took a few sim rounds and the scenario ended shortly thereafter. It was a fun training, but the seriousness of it was not lost on any of us. We all know that this could legitimately happen someday in our jurisdiction so we want to be prepared. We finished out the day with some live firearms training at the range for a stress course. Did great until the pie plates. Those darn things hang me up every time. My LT did tell me that I was the most efficient in clearing the jam the instructors created on the AR-15 so that felt good to know.
Sunday I had the pleasure of talking to 2 classes of 2 year olds at a local church about police officers and what we do. They were learning about the "Good Samaritan." They got to sit in the car and have their picture taken. They were also given a bunch of coloring books and a sticker for their parents to place on their car seats that identified them in the event of an accident in case their parents were unable to communicate with emergency crews. They learned about what I carry on my belt and they were told that our job was to help them and keep them safe. The second class went through a fire drill while I was there. Before that they talked to a firefighter who taught them about what they do. It was all good until he masked up...then the TEARS STARTED! I may have smirked a little. All I could think was..."they didn't cry for me, hahaha!"
Wednesday I was honored to help escort a group carrying a flag across the country in a relay similar to the Torch Run for Special Olympics. This was the Old Glory Coast to Coast relay. The run began September 11 at the VA Hospital in San Fransico, CA and will end November 9 at Bethesda Navel Hospital in Washington DC. The run was sponsored by teamrwb.org (Team Red White and Blue) and is trying to raise money for various Veteran Services. As the run comes through an area, a team can "sponsor" the day. The daily course can be ran by as many or as few as a daily team needs, just as long as they reach the destination by dusk of that day. I escorted 2 runners across the river bridge and watched as they handed the Flag off to another runner for her leg of the relay. I escorted her out of town and was able to snap this pic at a stoplight. It was a humbling experience and I admire them for what they are doing!
So enough about work. Let's get in to my crazy boys. While at home the other day, my husband calls me and tells me that our oldest must have exploded a marker. There was green marker all over the kitchen floor and the living room wood floor. He cleaned it up and asked our oldest about it. He lied and said his little brother did it. My husband then saw green marker all over the bottom of the oldest's feet. I feel we need to speak with our son about "spontaneous utterances." Without saying a word about the marker on the feet, he looked at my husband and said "I'm sorry Daddy, I won't color my feet anymore." He cleaned him up in the tub and we thought that was the end of it. We were wrong. I walked in to the bedroom as we were getting ready to leave a few nights ago and saw my husband had green marker all over his face. He didn't know why. The search was on for the marker, since we never recovered it the first time. We looked and looked and looked. We also cleaned up more green marker on the floor. I then happened to look at a foam sword laying on the ground. It had a point. This sword should not have a point. I looked closer and discovered this:
Somehow our oldest had shoved a marker in to the tip of the sword. We had to walk away to keep him from seeing us laugh and applaud his creativity. He's 4,how did he think to do this. It was awesome. It was then discovered that my husband had green marker on his face because he had been sword fighting with our son and took some shots to the face. AWESOME!!!!!
So I am making a commitment to myself during this day shift rotation to lose 10 pounds. That's all I ask for, nothing crazy, but easier said then done. Since I have hypothyroidism, it has always been twice as hard for me to lose weight. I began eating better, working out more consistently, and began distance running again. In two weeks I have lost...are you ready for this...are you sure...2 pounds. Its very deflating to work so hard and see no results. I am not fat by any means, but I could stand to lose weight. I will always have body image issues since my whole teenage existence was spent being the overweight girl that was made fun of behind my back, or so they thought it was behind my back. It haunts me to this day. I never want to be that girl again. My heaviest was 200 pounds. My lightest 160 and that was after the birth of our oldest. But I want to lose weight and I know with good support I can. I need to be held accountable for my workouts and my intake. I miss my Frappuccino's and comfort foods, but if giving them up is what it takes, then it's what I have to do. I had stopped distance running for a while, but decided to pick it back up a few weeks ago. I dropped my 5k time to within 2 minutes of my best time when I was running everyday. Here is the stopwatch photo:
Our boys started a new babysitter recently. We love her. I already knew her from playing softball together so when we had to suddenly find a new sitter, she told us she was ready to open her business. We have not regretted the decision. She has a young boy as well so the boys all play well together. They do crafts and have a lot of fun. They got to paint pumpkins yesterday! They loved it. Our oldest loves Halloween anyway so this was a great activity. So it's time for me to go get ready to help my husband's VFW post. They are having a fish fry and the auxiliary members are serving the food. We get adult contact and the boys get to see mamaw and papaw so it is a win win!
So that is all for this installment. I hope y'all enjoyed! Feel free to comment about things you would like to see my write about either in my home or work life.
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