To my fellow police wives/girlfriends,
I see you.
I see you hurting.
I see your fear.
I see the pain in your eyes.
I see you changing your social media name and pictures and locking down your accounts for your safety.
I see you telling your children that you can no longer tell people about what their parent does for a living because it puts you in danger.
I see your tears the moment your officer drives away and the moment he/she pulls off that vest.
I see it because I live it along with you.
This post has been in my draft folder for over a week but it hurt to write. I spend my days giving support and resources to police wives/girlfriends and I love doing that, but in the 13 years my husband has been in law enforcement, I have never struggled more than I do right now.
Whether you are a girlfriend, police wife of a few years or you have a spouse nearing retirement, we are all fearful right now. We are all hurting.
We are all lying awake at night.
We literally feel sick to our stomachs sending our spouses out that door and don’t feel an ounce better until they are home.
We want to scream from the rooftops that our officers are GOOD.
We feel damned if we do and damned if we don’t. We want to speak up and show our support for law enforcement, but then we are picked apart and people make assumptions about our beliefs (that usually aren’t true). If we don’t speak up, it feels wrong because law enforcement needs our support now more than ever. We want to fight for the good officers of our nation, including our officers. We don’t know the right move to make. We feel silenced.
We are tired. Mentally, emotionally, physically.
WE ARE TIRED OF BEING TIRED.
Dear Police Wife, I Want You to Know:
I may not have the perfect words to calm your fears or take away the pain, but I can promise you this: I am here for you. I will continue to be here for you because someone needs to be.
No matter how much we are hurting right now, we can continue to spread good. We are good people, doing good things and we don’t need to give an explanation to anyone.
We can stick together. Law enforcement families are always strong, but right now we feel torn down. That doesn’t mean we are not strong, it just means we have to fight harder. We have to fight harder to remain a team together.
Remember that there are people that support law enforcement even though it doesn’t feel like it much these days. I will continue to share those positive stories on Instagram and in my news feeds because we need to remember it exists.
Reach out to fellow law enforcement spouses, we are all not okay. Instead, let’s cheer each other on.
But above all else, take care of yourself. Place boundaries in your life so that the negativity in our world does not consume you. Your mental health is far too important.
We will get through this. It may get worse before it gets better, but I know we will overcome this together.
If you need more encouragement, check out my journal for police wives/girlfriends with over 50 journal prompts and inspiring quotes on Amazon, The Peacemaker’s Wife.
