I'm married to a police officer, and am proud of my husband's chosen profession.

He is on call 24 hours a day and even his days off are not his own, I can attest to that. "HE CAN'T HELP IT......IT'S HIS JOB"

I'm married to a police officer, and am proud of my husband's chosen profession.

He is on call 24 hours a day and even his days off are not his own, I can attest to that. He's been called away from the dinner table many times, even in the middle of a holiday meal, but it can't be helped.....it's his job!

Several times he's called to say he'd be late coming home and we had planned to have dinner out, or he's had to cancel completely, but it can't be helped.....it's his job!

When a construction worker comes home he grabs a cold beer, a shower and change of clothes and has the rest of the evening with his family. He can leave his job at the work site and forget about it. A police officer can't do that, his time belongs to the public, his life is not his own, he gets called out during dinner, games with his children, and during tender moments with his wife. But it can't be helped.....it's his job!

I've heard other wives say that they didn't believe it was dispatch calling, that it had to be a girlfriend who claimed to be calling him out on an emergency......not true, at least not in this family. I know the sounds of the dispatch room, the basic phone procedure, and there's an urgency in the voice that can not be faked. No matter how ridiculous the call sounds, believe it, and trust your man.......it's his job!

Friends are an important part of any couple's life and relationship, especially friends who aren't part of the job. We have friends who are dispatchers, fellow officers, firemen, and even judges, but we also have friends who are sales clerks, those who deal in home parties, (Tupperware, etc.) and in the building trades, ceramics, truck drivers and retirees.

You have to depend on other people sometimes to help you handle the stress of being a police officer, and those as far removed from the job as possible are the ones to go to. A buddy you can go fishing or bowling with, someone away from work and family you can talk to, or just spend time with.

(I have been in the same position, as a security guard and as a reserve officer and there is a lot of stress and anxiety involved with the job. Sometimes your family feels that you don't care about them anymore, but you do, fatigue and burnout sometimes can't be helped.......it's all part of the job!)

The kids wonder why Dad has to work the hours that he does. My husband leaves right after dinner and he's on call all weekend......he sees the kids for less than two hours a day......but it can't be helped.....he didn't pick his hours, besides......it's his job!

There are times when he comes home after working an accident and he's fairly shaken, a child has lost their fight for life after a senseless accident and died in his arms, or he had to make a notification to someone about the death of a loved one, worried that someday someone will notify his family because he's been killed in the line of duty.....will they do it right?! Had he handled this situation properly? Did he show the people that he really did care? Couldn't they see, after all......that it's his job?!

During those times all you can do is hold him, rock him like a child, and let him know that he is loved......it doesn't help to talk, just silent understanding is sometimes all he can handle at the time, he can't help it.........it's his job!

Most important, BE THERE! He needs to know that he's not coming home to an empty house all the time. Granted, some wives aren't as lucky as I am, I don't HAVE to work, but some do in order to raise a family, it can't be helped. When you are home when he comes in, don't give him the third degree, as a rule he can't discuss it with you anyhow, instead.......pull off his boots, hand him a tall iced tea or soda, (in winter make it a cup of hot cocoa). It's the little things that mean so much, he doesn't mean to be a grouch, he can't help it.......it's his job!

Don't throw a kettle of worms at him as he hits the front door, wait to tell him that you've dented the car, or the family cat had eight kittens on his dress uniform, and the dog ran away. He may run away too, hitting the door on his way out! Be understanding and loving, and remember, he's out there for you too, not just the strangers that he encounters every day.

He couldn't be there for eighth grade graduation, he had to work late, leaving his daughter without a "date". Her main worry was......."will he be there for high school graduation, Mom? Will he be there to walk me down the aisle on the day I wed? And what about when his first grandchild comes.......will he be there?!"

"Have faith, Child, if he possibly can, he'll be there, but you know how it is, he can't help it..........it's his job!"

I have faith that someday we'll make plans and he'll actually be there to take me out......in the meantime I patiently wait, because I understand, it can't be helped........it's his job!

My husband stands ten feet tall in his uniform, and out of uniform I feel his heart is ten feet tall and twice as wide. He's one hell of a man, my husband is, in or out of his armor of two tone gray, he's a cop through and through, but again, he can't help the way he is, don't you see? It's his job!

He may not be able to spot every crime, stop every speeder, or drunk driver, but believe me, he's out there for you and me, doing his best to protect and serve, he can't help it........it's his job!

He gave a warning to a young speeder last week, hoping he'd slow down. Last night he had to pull that same teen-ager from a wrecked car, he was going too fast to make a sharp curve in the road. The car had flipped several times, pinning him underneath. His date was thrown clear, only to be killed instantly, and as my husband cradled the boy's head in his arms, the young man said, "please, Sir, take care of my girl.....I can wait.........." As he spoke his voice trailed off, for he too was gone now......it was his fate.

My husband came home late last night, "I'm sorry, Sweetheart, it couldn't be helped, but you know how it is..............it's his job!"

As I gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek, he smiled and said he really should quit...........but he wouldn't be happy at any old job. He's a cop, and a good one at that, he has to be, don't you see? It's his job!!

My husband in a three piece suit of navy blue? Not my man, NO WAY! It's simple to see, he wouldn't be happy out of his suit of two tone gray, a suit that makes him swell with pride............don't you see, it can't be helped? Because after all............it's his job.