My excitement for being an SRO grew by leaps and bounds while I attended a week long training to be "certified" or allowed by the State of Missouri to be an SRO. I met some amazing officers that ranged from very urban and very rough to small town America. It was a great group of people to work with for the week and I made a lot of great contacts and built some friendships while I was there. We went through the basics like the history of the program and what we can and can't do with regards to FERPA (the school version of HIPAA.) We also had a 2 day training mixed in dealing with identifying drug usage in a school setting. It was a very informative training and it made some light bulbs click when we went over the signs and symptoms of a particular drug. So many times I have had someone that I have been dealing with either on a call or in custody and I just couldn't put my finger on what was different about this person. This made so much more sense. We also went over school safety and active shooter information. I am so excited to have the opportunity to be a part of protecting the kids in our schools. We all like to think that "it won't happen here" but I bet that's what every community that has had a school shooting has said. No community is immune to the possibility of this happening. We learned a lot about the new teaching of not so much locking down, but getting out if possible or even fighting back. I have had a few tell me that it may be effective for older kids but there is no way an Elementary school aged kid would be able to fight back or know why they are doing what they are doing. If that's your belief I think you are not giving these kids enough credit. They are smarter than we think and I have no doubt in my mind that these kids could do this if they were taught to do it. I know we will be teaching my children how to do this. We were told that of the classroom of kindergartners that were murdered, 2 children survived...why...apparently they ran right past the sorry excuse for a human when he came in to the classroom. This is why I think our kids are smarter than we give them credit for.
This was the thing I missed most while at training!
Not a whole lot has really been going on at work. We had our yearly department Christmas party at which time I received a "life saving" award for a CPR save I had in 2014. My squad mate also received one for a AED/CPR save he had on another call.
I was recently asked to be a board member of the newly formed Chaplaincy group that was formed in my county/community. Apparently they were looking for a female officer in the area and my name came up three separate times. One of the people that brought my name up was someone that I had never met. He knew of me through my brother who was in his Bible study group and he was very instrumental in helping my brother work through some issues that came up in his life. The other two was a husband and wife couple who lead a local Cop ministry and who helped form this group. I am very excited to be apart of this and look forward to where it may lead me!
I also sit back and think how blessed I am to have a very supportive group of people I work with, many of which I consider to be friends and not just co-workers. Those are the ones that I trust, that I confide in. The ones that I know would NEVER ask my to place my integrity on the line to lie for them when it is clear that the person talking to me already knows the answer to the question asked. I don't know of too many other officers that would do any different. Those that would ask me to do that are probably not friends and they can talk about me all they want behind my back. I really don't care.
With the new year arriving, it is now time for me to get my butt in gear and start helping our department's Explorer post raise some money so we can take them to the National Conference in Flagstaff, Arizona. It should be a good time so hopefully we can raise enough to cover expenses so that some of the children don't have to be told that cannot go if their family cannot afford to cover the rest of the costs for their kids. We have been very fortunate in years past that we have only asked our kids to pay $50-$100 as a deposit so to speak so they have some financial investment in it and won't decide not to go at the last minute since the post has to pay whether they go or not. Our kids have a really good time and we try to take them on some "adventures" in the areas we visit. When we went to Ft. Collins, Colorado we spent a lot of time in the mountains it seemed. On the way home we went to Pike's Peak. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I could have since I was 12 weeks pregnant. So anyway...we are working on some dine and donate things and a street collection so hopefully those pan out for us and we are successful. Our kids work hard during the year being present at the downtown festivals to manage drink sales for the downtown association and they also make themselves available when someone has a community event and wants fingerprinting done for the children that attend. They also work hard at the meetings soaking in all of the information we throw at them, They work very well together and when it comes time for practicals, they do really well. We are very proud of how hard they work and how well they work together.
Life on the home front has been exciting as of late. Our biggest blessing is that we sold our first home that we had been renting out. We were ecstatic that it was under contract about a month after listing it. Everything went smoothly with the home inspection and the buyers and we closed on December 4! Such a happy day. Luckily the money we "made" helped bring us back to where were were financially before we lost over $3000 to our former tenants who have made no attempt to make good on their civil judgement despite their word that they would make payments but we really expected no less. We also FINALLY completed a fence for our dog. We tried so many things to contain him without putting up chain link but we finally had no choice. For some reason the underground fence wouldn't work and he was terrified of the wireless fence. In fact he jumped through it and ran away for a few days. We didn't want to put the fence up at first because we didn't want to be "those" neighbors who came into the neighborhood and put a fence up when no one else near us had one. Now we don't care, besides, our next door neighbor hates us we are pretty sure. He glares at us and blames us for his water run off problems. He wanted us to help him pay for a retaining wall because of the water that ran down from our yard (which also had water from the two houses above us) so instead my husband installed corrugated piping underground from the downspouts to carry the water to the street. Wasn't good enough. Then he was mad that the water was now running into his driveway and washing away his corner of mulch near the gutter. He hasn't spoke 10 words to us since we moved in 2 years ago. Oh well. Our dog is happy as can be now that he has his fence. He has the whole run of the backyard, but apparently spends the day staring across the street at our neighbors house looking sad.
Speaking of our dog, we recently had a new water meter installed by the city so that they could remotely get the readings for billing. Well I guess the city worker was also out there to see what residents hadn't "registered" their animals. I guess they needed some way to help pay for the new water meters. Wonder how many others got the same letter. I hope the city doesn't spend those $2 in one place. I am not opposed to the "fee," which is ridiculous by all accounts of local vets, but they could have gone about it differently. Our small town is apparently the only one that does it anymore. Seems like a waste of resources if you ask me. That's okay, since they chose to address this in this manner, I have made it clear that no city employee (other than police on police business) is to be on our grounds (with the exception of their city right of way) without both my husband and I being home.
The tenth anniversary of my 21st birthday came and went. My husband got me a pretty amazing gift...No sarcasm at all...he got me my very own Label maker. He has no idea what kind of monster he has created. There will be labels all over this house! This is an OCD girl's dream. We had a nice dinner at home with our good friends/neighbors. And by nice dinner I mean we ordered pizza takeout from the local place in town since they were having an awesome special. My parents came to the town I work in the next evening and took me out for dinner while I was at work. I was blown away when our server came to me and told me that there was someone at the counter who wanted to buy a bowl of ice cream for me to thank me for what we do. I was quite shocked. I went and thanked her and she said she would have paid for my meal had it not been paid for already (it was a pay then eat buffet style place.) I felt honored that she did that for me. I didn't need ice cream by any means, but I also did not want to be rude and deny it. It felt very nice to be appreciated for what we do in this crazy world that we live in now where so many see us as a "goon" squad. Our community has always been very supportive of our department and we didn't get a whole lot of the Ferguson effect even though we are a little over an hour away, at least not that I really noticed.
And that brings us to Christmas. Christmas was great. I helped our 5 year old make Ninja Turtle Christmas ornaments for the tree we got for his room. He had a blast and everyone we showed them to loved them.
We were also very blessed for the gifts our children received. It was evident that they are truly loved and that we have so much to be thankful for. I love the holidays just because that is the one time of the year that we are pretty much guaranteed to see everyone in the family. We opened our home up to my mom's side of the family (which is the family I feel closest to and the cousins whom I consider to be more than cousins because I consider them some of my best friends.) I love having everyone over. It can be stressful but what family gathering isn't complete without a little stress. Never in a million years would I have thought that our home could hold 30 people, mostly adults, without us all tripping over each other.
I made some "candies" that I used to make with my mom when I was younger and I also made some cookies and made a peppermint bark that I saw on Pinterest. It all turned out great! I made too much and now I have cookies and "candies" all over that I won't eat since I have gone on my yearly "diet." Speaking of diets...As of today....January 8. I am happy to say that I have lost 4 pounds just this week by cutting my calories and hitting the gym hard. My goal is 25, so we shall see. I am determined to get back to the weight I was at when I stopped nursing our youngest son. I packed it on after I stopped despite cutting calories and working out. It crept up and up to the tune of a 25 pound gain in 2 years. I am not happy in my body and I don't want my boys to see me as their "big" mom, even though the people I am around say I don't look any different. I treated myself to a Fitbit Charge HR so I am hoping that keeps me motivated to do work. Today I had 10,000 steps by 10:30 AM, but it probably helped that I spent an hour on the elliptical too.
Our 5 year old got the two most important things he asked for...The Imaginext Transforming Bat Cave and a dancing/singing Snoopy from The Peanuts Movie...don't ask me...it was the random off the wall gift that he really wanted. They also got some underwear and socks, some Transformer Rescue Bots, some Nerf guns and remote control cars, some Bubble Guppies toys, hot wheels and hot wheels tracks, clothing and pjs,the entire set of Goosebumps books (mine from when I was younger) and many others. Our son is OBSESSED with Goosebumps, in fact it was one of the dates his daddy and I took him on. His other date was the The Peanuts movie on Thanksgiving. So we read 2 or 3 chapters a night from a book and he LOVES it!!! I received a pair of beautiful diamond earrings from my husband, a Missouri State tote bag and Starbucks card from my Sister in laws, a 12 pack of essential oils and a book called Innocent Targets (a book concerning school safety with a section written by the great Lt. Col. David Grossman) from my Mother in law, an handmade wreath adorned with pink and purple ornament from my aunt and uncle (she said he made them all) and some cookbooks, and wine and other awesome goodies. I bought my husband a new Amazon Fire tablet. His Google Nexus finally gave out so he needed something to help him get through his long and uneventful trials at work.
I am in love with my oils. Just this week I bought a diffuser with a gift card I got for Christmas and we started diffusing lemon, lavender, and peppermint at night to help with the colds we had developed. Not only did it make our room smell great, it helped us a lot. I could tell as the day went on and I wasn't around them that my sinuses got worse. I have now made myself a roller ball with that combination. I am so excited to get more oils so that I can have my own arsenal of oils for whatever ailment comes up. I am also one step closer to being able to start making the lotions, soaps, and rollers that I previously talked about in an effort to make some money on the side.
I have to put this in here, even though it does not flow at all with what I have already typed...as you have seen in other posts I participate in a site called Influenster. I was chosen to receive their Jingle Bell Vox Box and I couldn't be happier. It came with a coupon for a free bag of Ore Ida Potatoes, a Hallmark Itty Bitty that was Olaf from Frozen, a few packages of Biscoff biscotti biscuits, Kiss true volume fake eyelashes and the adhesive to place them, a small jar of Cetaphil lotion, NYC 24 hour eyeliner, and bottle of Blue Pure Ice nail polish. Very cool stuff and I am happy with all of it. I have not had a chance to use the eyelashes yet and I am not sure when I will, but I am sure they will look great when I do. I can't really paint my nails because of work but I can paint my toes. I was very happy with how fast it dried and how great it looked when it was on. I also have to mention that all of those items were received at no cost to me to try and review. If you want an invite send comment with your email address and I will send you one so you can join!!
That's all for now!!!
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