Back from my break!

So, in my absence from my blog many things have happened and changed for me and my family. In October of last year (2015) my godmother, Debbie Jenkins, passed away. In November my dog, Karma, was killed. Of course in September, October, November, and December we had birthdays for over half of the family. Talk about crazy! And near the end of the year my darling boss was let go from our company where I worked, and another manager was brought in.

Now, to give you a bit of a background, before I go into the beginning of 2016 for my family, I had applied for the position of Police Officer in Metropolis a couple of years ago. I submitted my application, resume, and background check information for the Chief to take to the Police and Fire Commission. About 5 months later, I was called to take the written exam and Power Test, a physical agility and strength test to make sure I would be fit to enter the academy. I passed the written test, the Power Test, and the interview, becoming 4^th on the list, and the only female, for Patrol Officer in Metropolis! Talk about excited!!!

In the mean time, while I waited for my phone call, a female deputy was hired on and sent to the academy for Massac County Sheriff. Everyone was excited, and I was definitely excited! It was good to know that there was going to be another woman on the police force, locally. So, I waited and waited, and the beginning of 2016 comes around, and I get the phone call. OMG… Happy Dance!

I put in my notice at the place I was working, and on February 11, 2016, I was sworn in as Metropolis’ newest Police Officer! There were no words or actions that could contain my excitement and joy! Finally! It happened!

I spent April 3 through June 23 at Police Training Institute in Champaign, Illinois. The day after graduation, I started work at the Metropolis Police department. And since that day I have been having the time of my life! Training has continued here, and it is good, and sometimes it is hard, but the whole time I was away I learned tactics and procedures to stay alive, and keep others alive. And now I am using those things I have learned, for those very purposes!

Granted, this is a time in our lives when being a police officer is not something people set as a goal for their lives. The tension in our country between law enforcement and other groups is so heavy; I have physically felt the struggle to breathe underneath it all. But we have been told to find a reason to go to work, and find a reason to go home. I have a completely different blog post about that, though. I have taken my break from public life, and have thrown myself right back into it, in a completely different role. This role, however, is the one I KNOW I have been called to take. My passion, my heart, and my desire, is for my city and what I can do for the people here. I am excited to pick up this badge, pin it on my uniform, and step out into the streets as one of the city’s protectors and civil servants!

The following blog posts will be the articles that I wrote every week for the Metropolis Planet, while I was away at PTI. I will post them every few days, so it’s not an overload, but not making everyone wait for weeks on end to read them either.

It’s good to be back on the blog!