I can’t believe it’s already August. It has been nearly four months since I last updated my journal, and nearly a year since I finished the academy. I’m staying busy with work, and hopefully I’ll start school back soon.

I miss school.

It’s that time of year when all of the stores have their school displays up, and the nerd inside of me yearns to play with the pens, calculators, and organizers. I could spend hours in office supply stores.

I’m afraid that I’ll never graduate though.

If I take more than one or two classes a semester I’m afraid that I will get burned out with either work or school while I’m doing both. But if I’m only taking one or two classes a semester then it’s going to take me years to finish. I only have one more traditional year left. I hope it doesn’t take me more than three.

When I was first assigned to Precinct 4 I was pretty excited. Precinct 4 is known for its wealthy neighborhoods and low crime rates. Even though I’m young I didn’t want to be where all of the action is. I don’t want to get into fights with gang bangers, I don’t want to get in foot pursuits, and I definitely don’t want to get shot at. But sometimes I feel like I’m going to lose it if I have to deal with one more dispute over nonsense. I went to a dispute over, “She took the remote from me and won’t let me change the channel.” It was a couple who has been married for 40 years plus, and has probably been fighting for the better part of 39 years.

I do deal with a lot of nonsense, but I get my share – though very small – of big events too.

I handled a call about a month ago where a woman had stabbed her boyfriend in the arm with a steak knife. We found her hiding in a shed in the back yard. We also found a stolen Chrysler 300 as well as drugs in their back yard. (This wasn’t in the nice part of town.) And a couple of weeks ago I handled an armed robbery at a gas station. The perp was apprehended about a week later. I’d like to say it was because of my investigative and report writing skills, but I’m not sure how or where they caught him. I’ve had my fair share of death investigations, both natural and unnatural. One man shot himself in the chest after his wife of 30 years asked for a divorce. The next day a 17 year old girl hanged herself with a jump rope because of relationship problems.

But I guess that’s what keeps us all coming back to work every day. I truly never know what’s going to happen when I put on my uniform. One minute I could be doing a “routine” traffic stop, and the next I could be wrestling a drunk to the ground (which has happened).

There’s a certain amount of excitement that comes with pinning on my badge every day. But with that badge comes more responsibility and stress than I ever could have imagined. I couldn’t have made it this far without the prayers and support of my family and friends. But most especially, I wouldn’t be able to continue doing this without Michelle.

No matter what I have to deal with, no matter what time in the night I come home, and no matter what I’m going through, I know Michelle will be there for me. Always supportive of my plans and goals, and always with a positive word to say, she has truly been a lifesaver to me.