January-2012

This is the first of my "catch up posts".  In January I had to endure a time in my life that without the grace of God, I would have never been able to make it through.  I knew one of the requirements of my job when I took it was that I would have to attend the Dispatch Academy at the Department of Criminal Justice in Richmond.  I was told that is was a 3 week course.  I would have to stay up there during the week but would be able to come home on the weekends.  My boss, whom is a great guy, hated to send me and put it off as long as he could.  In the fall they had restructured the program and it was now 4 weeks instead of the 3 I had originally been told.  I would be away from my little family during the week, taking courses for 8 hours a day, testing each week, and living with a roommate I had never met in a dorm like setting, coming home on the weekends.  Oh and ugly uniforms were also a requirement.   I remember driving to Richmond the first Sunday for orientation with no clue what was ahead of me praying for strength to endure whatever is was I would be going through.

I was going to the school where police recruits train for 18 weeks.  It is a military type environment with strict rules that we also had to go by.  My first night I couldn't sleep.  I got up at 2 a.m. snuck into the bathroom and cried, hoping my roommate wouldn't hear.  I missed Camden and the kids so much and didn't know how I was going to make it.  I was so tempted to quit my job and just come home.

I somehow made it through the first week.  I liked my roommate and buddied up with a group of ladies who ended up being my support system for the month.  We could not have done this without each other and I am truly grateful for their friendship.

The second week of class, I got word that my dad had been taken to the emergency room.  He was in severe pain.  The pain was so intense that his blood pressure was out of control.  Testing revealed that he had a tumor on his kidney the size of his fist and it was causing his adrenal gland to bleed.  The medicine they were giving him caused him to swell up where he was almost unrecognizable and they were moving him to a different hospital that could better handle the situation.  I have always known my mom to be strong in a crises.  She doesn't fall apart but I could hear the fear in her voice and that was hard to take.  She encouraged me to stay at school and not lose the week I had gotten behind me.  I did but it was hard.  Our biggest concern was what type of tumor it was and whether or not it was cancer.  On the weekends I would come home and try to spend time with my family but also help with my dad.  They wouldn't do surgery until he was stabilized so I couldn't do anything but go back to school and pray.

After 4 very stressful weeks of studying, testing and worrying, I had passed everything and was ready to graduate.  Although this time in my life was difficult I can see that God put people in my path that I would need.  I really grew to like most of my classmates.  They were young kids who were dedicated to doing their jobs with excellence.  Most of them were 911 dispatchers who lived in small towns and dealt with emergencies on a regular basis.  To be so young they are very mature and are very good at what they do.  We laughed a lot and really bonded.  We lifted each other up and helped each other get through the rough times.  I am very glad to have met them.  Most of us keep in touch on Facebook now and I'm glad we do.  My friends Jill and Becky constantly texted me, called me and lifted me up.  It always seemed like I had a word from them just when I needed it most.   My biggest help and support came from my husband.  Camden was so great while I was gone.  Mom was supposed to help with Sophie but when Dad got sick she couldn't do much.  As usual he stepped up and just did what he needed to do.  He worked from home and took great care of our little one.  He went to the hospital and checked on my parents often.  He even drove to Richmond and left a sweet card in the front seat of my car just to surprise me.  He did an excellent job of keeping up with everything at home.

January 2012 was a difficult time for me but through it all God was there and I learned something about myself.  I am stronger than I thought I was.  I can endure more than I thought I could and that my family will be okay even if there are times when I can't be there.