My Hero

Don’t let the picture fool you. This isn’t going to be one of my happier, lolly-la posts. Most of the time I limit my posts to events, etc. related to my creative outlet. Sometimes I throw in things about my home or family. Then, every so often, I have to vent about something that just… gets… to… me. This is one of those days. I’m going to keep it vague, since I don’t want to embarrass my husband or offend his employers. We value his paycheck and I know he loves his job – most of the time. My husband was previously employed in an area related to juvenile corrections. There were many times (probably more than I care to know about) where he was placed in a dangerous situation – like removing a firearm from a youth. Hated finding out about that one, but explained the bruised ribs. Anyway, he certainly is my personal hero after yesterday.

This is the story. He is now an educator in a public high school located in a relatively quiet, sleepy community. Yesterday afternoon, he and two other teachers found themselves in the school parking lot with members of the local police department. The police had received a call that someone was on school property with a rifle. They responded and were searching the school grounds. My husband was told to get down and take cover. But before the police were notified, the school determined that it was a hoax (somebody “fessed- up” to the principal) and released the students from lock-down. In the meantime, my husband and the other two teachers were in the parking lot taking cover with police officers when students started to pour into the parking lot. My husband and the other teachers went into action putting themselves at risk to get those students back into the building. You see, no one had told the police or the teachers that it had been a hoax. The police were still there looking for a gunman with the student’s coming out of the school building to leave for the day. My sweetie put himself out there to take care of those kids and see that they were safe. I can hardly stand to think about what might have happened if it hadn’t been a hoax. I’ve been thanking my lucky stars it was a hoax or I could be a widow today. I’m not annoyed that he put himself at risk for the kids, but I am annoyed at the way the administration handled the situation. There isn’t a darn thing that I can do about it, but sharing the experience with all of you makes me feel better. Thanks for listening and a great, big hug for my sweetie. On a lighter note, Miss Zoe will be modeling her Easter bonnet for you tomorrow! She won’t like it, but she will humor me long enough to get a picture. TGIF & Happy Spring Break! M.

PS. The other part of this story is that during all of this happening, my husband locked his keys in his truck. The reason he was in the parking lot in the first place was that he was preparing to leave with his tennis team for a match. I had to drive 30 minutes to take him a set of keys. I didn't mind - I was glad I was home to do it. Then, after driving an hour to the match, they cancelled because of rain! Some days you shouldn't get out of bed.

PPS. GO KANSAS STATE!!!