Just Another Day

"Why do you have so many pairs of handcuffs hanging in your tree?"

An actual question a friend once asked me upon finding six pairs of  handcuffs hanging in a tree in our front yard.  (Notice she didn't ask why they were there, just why were there so many....)

Looking up and down the block I responded with feigned shock, "You mean other people don't do that?"



In case you are wondering, earlier in the day my husband had spray painted about six pairs of cuffs fire engine red.  He claimed cops had difficulty keeping track of their own gear and this way he would always get his back.  A tree was the most convenient means of a drying rack.

I should also mention that he turned down my offer to buy him the hot pink ones...

Last week my son was getting ready for his final baseball game of the season and asked me where his cup was (the athletic sort....not the coffee sort...)  It was in the dishwasher, of course.  According to the movie, Cheaper by the Dozen  that is the best way to clean an athletic cup.

He retrieved the cup, placed it appropriately and never once questioned it's location.  To be fair, with two baseball players in the house I must share that I have also found them in the cup holder in my car (the coffee sort...not the athletic sort...), the trunk, the laundry basket and once even in my purse...

One night as I talked on the phone with my mom, I heard something banging around in the dryer.  Assuming it was yet another match box car or lego creation that often made their way into someone's pocket, I pulled open the dryer and felt around for the offending toy.  It was a toy all right but didn't belong to the little boys.  The "big" one had gone to the shooting range and forgotten to clean out all of his pockets....FYI....45 caliber bullets sound an awful lot like matchbox cars in the dryer.  That same item now sits on my kitchen window sill as a reminder of how much I enjoy the little nuances that pepper my existence.

This is my life... and I love it. 

When I first decided to get back into blogging, I struggled with trying to find a name that would encapsulate all that I felt I wanted to write about.  I went through many ideas of my own, but as a writer I always struggle with the titles of everything.  A title says so much about a piece of work that I wanted something that would cover it all.

So, I did what anyone in the 21st century with any sort of problem would do...I turned to social networking for assistance....

Thank you, Anita for so many great ideas....I see many blog titles in my future and I will likely return to you for more!

The one I have decided to go with, the title of this blog, exemplifies the three things in this world that I am most proud.  My boys (all of them, even the "big" one!), being a police wife and the things that I write.  Now, I get to combine my three loves in one specific place.  It doesn't get any better than that.

So, thank you, Sheri for having the blast of inspiration that says it all about me. 

Last month I published a book with my good friend and co-author Carolyn Whiting about the uniqueness of living the law enforcement life.  (Here is the link if you would like to check it out https://www.facebook.com/thecrazylivesofpolicewives?ref=hl .)  We had many fantastic women open their hearts, homes and experiences to us so that we could create something that we hope will benefit many over the years.  The number one thing that I learned during the writing process is that we all, every single one of us in this world, have things about our lives that are unique and we need to embrace them instead of fight them.

Handcuffs in the tree, an athletic cup in my purse...these are just some of things that make my life unique. Ten years of being a mom and a LEOW (law enforcement officer's wife) have taught me that constantly having to clean bathrooms and a bullet in the dryer are just another day...