Scrapping Friend'z & Micca: The Sequel

Ashtyn & I just got home from a Crop for a Cause for Easter Seals at Scrapbook Friend'z in Bloomington. It was a little bit of an eye opener for Ashtyn, because a little boy, age 2, who is an Easter Seals child was at the crop with his mom. She was the one in charge of the festivities. It don't think that the charity seemed that important to her until I explained that it was for kids like Noah. It seems Ashtyn was pleasantly surprised with the crop. She confided to me about 10 hours in that she hadn't really wanted to go, but didn't want to hurt my feelings. LOL She insisted on staying until midnight, but by 1100 she was ready to call it a night.

We had a great time working on our scrapbooks and chatting. There were a whole bunch of giveaways and we both came away with a bunch of freebies. Ashtyn was thrilled when we "won" two silent auctions, like we didn't have to pay for the privelege. It was for a good cause and Ashtyn is so worth it.

On Thursday she had told me that her friends were asking why she couldn't spend the night this weekend. She told them that she didn't want to because she wanted to spend time with her stepmom. She told them what we were going to do and they all wanted a stepmom as cool as me. :D Now that melted my heart! She spent most of her time and effort today on daddy pages. I worked on our 2007 Cruise. LOL.....So, I never made it to the cruise, but I ALMOST have Miami done.

Drake had to get glasses yesterday. I haven't seen him in them yet, but Carrie said he's as blind as a bat. Like Father, Like Son, I guess.


Ok, so here's the rest of my story....Ever since second grade I've wanted to be a police officer. Before that was an astronaut, but when the space shuttle blew up that year I decided that was too dangerous. So, in the infinite wisdom of an 8 year old I decided on an life path that was far more likely to get me killed. People ask me all the time why I want to be a cop. My simple, but mostly frustrating answer is, because that's what I've always wanted to do. One thing I know for sure is that it takes a special kind of person to do that work. I'm that type of person & if I don't do it, then I'm not doing anyone any favors.

Lt. Col. Grossman explains "warriors" like this: Most people on 9/11 saw the tragedy on television & thought "Damn, I'm glad I wasn't on one of those planes." People like me & my brothers & sisters in blue saw it unfolding & thought "Damn, if only I had been on one of those planes, maybe I could've done something." Now those passengers were heroes, I would never say they weren't, but the point is that we would've been there to help in the fight & maybe could've turned the tides. True warriors are ones that go running towards the gunfire, instead of running away from it. I'm sure I will touch more on this topic in another post.

Back on topic....during my high school years I was planning on joining the Army. In truth, when it came time to sign the papers I chickened out. I was scared to death that the drill instructors would yell at me & make me cry. You see, my grand plan to become a police officer was to fake it til I made it. & that's what I did. I had no confidence in myself & was scared out of my mind to talk to strangers. To this day I hate calling people on the telephone. But I wanted this so bad I made it happen.

My mom was disappointed in my choice. I was too smart to become "just a cop." She had visions of me becoming an award winning author (I came in 3rd in Young Author's in 2nd Grade) or a lawyer. She still does not understand me or my choice to a certain degree, but she is very proud of me. I went to Illinois Central College and got my Associate's degree in Law Enforcement. I worked my way through school by working retail security at Kmart. I was actually very good at catching shoplifters. I did an internship with the Peoria Police Department & the Tazewell County Sheriff's Department. That's when I decided that working for the county was the right speed for me. There's a much larger area to work in & just the right amount of excitement. Plus, even at that point I was showing signs of becoming a "shit magnet." That's cop speak for if something was gonna happen, it was gonna happen to me.

Around this time I met & married Dade's father. I also tested to become a Tazewell County Correctional Officer and was hired. I never wanted to work in the jail, but I felt that I needed to get my foot in the door. I was the first female correctional officer in the history of Tazewell County. At the time we were on the verge of being shut down by the courts because of the condition of the jail. We did not house females, but once we built the new jail we would and, therefore, would need to hire females. This was my in. Fifteen months later, still with the new jail no where in sight, I was hired as a Deputy Sheriff.

I had gotten hired the first two places I tested. I don't think most people realize how amazing that is. Getting hired as a police officer is a long process, and for many it takes years.

I went to the Police Training Institute in Champaign, Illinois in June 2001. On Sep 11, 2001 I was two days from graduation. I was never so proud of myself as I was at that point. It cemented my belief that this was my true calling. When I returned home after graduation I found out that I was pregnant with Dade. I gave birth 9 months to the day from Sep 11. There was a boom of baby boys born at that time. I had an unconventional first year on the job, but made it off probation.

When Dade was two, I filed from divorce from his father. We were married for five years, but were not good for each other. We still get along and Brent & I are both friends with his mother, Judy, even inviting her over for dinner and to our wedding reception.

Well, we're pretty much up to the point where I met the love of my life. That's a story for another time. I've been up for 36 hours at this point, so I better crash.