Read Between The Lines

Truthfully, I get annoyed more than anything else when this time of year rolls around. I get annoyed at the memorials, I get annoyed at the T.V. specials. The whole scene just puts me off. Don't ask me to explain why that is to you. At least not in a blog post. No matter how Kris and I try to shelter ourselves from the endless stream of new documentaries each year, no matter how selectively we read our normal website haunts, hoping to avoid the mental landmines, there really is no way around it. My reason for finding this outlet each year to visit the thoughts I otherwise try to stave off, is to ensure my boys will someday have a way to make it a bit more personal. Hopefully, in doing so, some sense can be made of the mess for them.

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The wisest people I know are those who possess the ability to change. Change, to function in the midst of dynamic surroundings. Change to better themselves. Change for the betterment of others. True change requires an adjusted way of thinking. Merely adapting new behaviors or habits is not always an indication that real change or progress is being made. Perhaps the ideal form of change is when a person makes necessary adjustments, while not forgetting where they come from. In so doing, the benefit of life experience and wisdom is brought to bear in new circumstances. It is this sort of ability that Kris has. Its really no surprise that Kris was met with success as a police officer. It also has been no surprise that she has risen to the challenges of being a "stay at home" mom.

I'd like my boys to know that their mother made poignant choices, and followed through with changes to make our present day life a reality. I'd also like them to know she brings with her all the wisdom, from what seems like a different life, into her decisions at home everyday.

Evan, on any given Saturday morning, your mom may place you across her chest in a sling as we wander through the market. A few years ago it was a bullet resistant vest across her chest. Take this to mean she understands where danger waits, and she can protect you. Aiden, when your mother provides you with advice, please understand she has given guidance to others during the darkest hours in their lives. She has wisdom to impart to you. Boys, understand that when your mom runs in the park with you, she has also run into pure danger to save lives. You cannot outrun her obsession to care for you.
Read between the lines, boys.

In our attic is a box with among other things, Kris' memo books.  These are a legal record of her time in service as a police officer. Every observation, every assignment and post, every arrest she effected is documented.

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The images below are pages from September 11th, 2001. Unless you have experience in the military, police, or other first responder capacity, these pages don't reveal anything remarkable.

However, if you read between the lines, you will see an officer desperate and determined to reach a smoldering pile of rubble that was to burn for weeks. You will see an endless amount of effort to ensure friends and strangers alike were provided the dignity of a decent funeral. If you read between the lines you see keen powers of observation, strength and determination. They reveal everything you might not guess about Kris. Perhaps, that was why she was so sucessfull in her roles as a cop..... bad guys never saw her coming.

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