The Husband and I found out the sex of our little alien. It's a.....
.
.
.
.
.
Boy!
Honestly, I had no preference either way. I just want a healthy, happy child. Everything looked good at the anatomy scan, so that was reassuring. We haven't decided on a name yet, but we probably won't reveal it anyway until after the baby is born.
I am now 21 weeks along and halfway through! Time really is flying. I really need to buckle down and start making lists of things we'll need to do and buy. It's a bit overwhelming. I did find out something interesting: the hubster is very much AGAINST cycling with children in a city. I may have some serious research and convincing to do. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Speaking of bridges (see photo below), we made a trip to visit Bass Pro Shops for camping supplies last weekend. I am determined to do an overnight bike camping trip before the baby is here. The husband has never been camping before, so I'd like for him to come along as well. He seems intrigued by the idea, even though he'll probably drive to the campsite rather than bike. I think a simple overnight trip will be manageable for the both of us.
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| See, isn't the outdoors FUN? If you're not falling off a bridge, there's a bear waiting to maul you! This was an actual display at Bass Pro Shops. Way to sell nature, guys. |
Happy Spring! The weather finally seems to be catching up, and I feel comfortable getting back into the groove of bike commuting again. To help keep me on track, I pledged to ride my bike every day for 30 days in the month of April (again). I've done this the last few years. It's a great way to kick off spring riding. Today's ride was glorious. Sunny, clear, and warm(ish).
April is also when I start going to into high gear for Police Unity Tour fundraising. You can check out entries from previous years about my experiences riding with the Police Unity Tour. It's amazing. I encourage you to check out these videos that were filmed during our ride last year to get an idea what it's all about. This year I won't be physically riding WITH Chapter IV, but I am still a registered rider. I plan on putting the miles in. If the weather is decent, I'll be at Hains Point May 10th, 11th & 12th riding in circles. You can join me! If the weather is crappy, I'll be on my trainer at home.
I have a fundraising goal of $1750 by the end of this month, and I could really use your help reaching it. For the next few weeks, I'm going to be talking about the National Law Enforcement Memorial (to which the funds raised go towards) and the importance of organizations like the Police Unity Tour.
Most importantly, I want to talk about the law enforcement officers that I personally worked with whose names are now up on the wall at the Memorial.
You can read more about the Memorial here.
The profession of policing has come under fire recently. Confidence in our law enforcement institutions is probably at the lowest its ever been. You might be asking yourself why you should support anything to do with policing. The answer to that is simple; it is more important than ever to support law enforcement officers. There are over 750,000 sworn law enforcement professionals in this country; 750,000 men and women that perform their job duties in a professional, ethical and compassionate manner every single day. As important as it is to identify and correct problem officers and policies in law enforcement, it is just as important to recognize that those problem officers are a very small minority. When we are doing our jobs well, no one notices. And that's how it should be--it means that things are GOOD. No one calls 911 because they are having a good day. Generally, if the police are involved it means something went terribly wrong. Those 750,000 professionals that do their jobs well need to know that they are valued and that they are needed; they need to hear this from you.
Policing is often a thankless job. Police officers are called upon to do things that most citizens will never even consider. It's not just a cliche that while most folks run FROM danger, police officers run TOWARDS it; and they do it for you.
Do you know what happens after an officer handles a robbery call or an assault call or a child abuse call or any other of the myriad terrible, awful and sometimes traumatic calls that police officers handle?
They take the next call.
Think about it. Think about the most awful, horrible thing that's ever happened to you, or you've been witness to. Think about your reaction. Could you keep going on with your day? Could you handle another incident?
For those of you new to this blog, I am a patrol supervisor (I was a patrol officer for 9 years prior to being promoted). Tonight, three of my officers were assaulted and injured while handling an assignment. Minor injuries, but not insignificant. Do you know what they will be doing tomorrow?
Taking the next call and doing it again. And it's only the beginning of the week.
Being a police officer is not simply a job or a career. It is a Calling. It requires a certain strength of character. It requires a thick skin. It requires empathy, not sympathy. Strength, not brutality. Courage, not ego.
Most of all, it requires your support and your trust. Otherwise, our role is meaningless. Our job is nearly impossible if we do not have the support of the public behind us. Police Officers ARE citizens. We are YOU, and you are US. Those names on that wall? Those are YOUR brothers and sisters too.
I will continue to talk about this in the next few weeks. If you would like to make a donation to the Police Unity Tour, you can do so here. Hopefully I will have a direct link on the sidebar soon. Please be sure to include my name (Kathleen Coffey) as the rider you are supporting.
I'd like to leave you with some statistics that were just released by the FBI: (pardon the all-caps and robotic phrasing. This was a teletype message).
FIFTY-ONE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS HAVE BEEN KILLED DUE TO
CRIMINAL ACTIONS.
DURING SAME TIME PERIOD IN 2013, 27 OFFICERS WERE SLAIN.
CIRCUMSTANCES
INVOLVING THE 51 OFFICERS SLAIN IN 2014 ARE AS FOLLOWS: 11
WERE ANSWERING
DISTURBANCE CALLS (1 BEING DOMESTIC-RELATED), 9 WERE
PERFORMING TRAFFIC
PURSUITS OR STOPS, 9 WERE AMBUSHED, 7 WERE INVESTIGATING
SUSPICIOUS PERSONS OR
CIRCUMSTANCES, 4 WERE INVOLVED IN TACTICAL SITUATIONS, 2 WERE
PERFORMING
INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES, 2 WERE HANDLING PERSON(S) WITH
MENTAL ILLNESS, 2
OFFICERS WERE INVOLVED IN DRUG-RELATED MATTERS, 1 WAS
PURSUING ROBBERY
SUSPECT/RESPONDING TO ROBBERY IN PROGRESS, AND 4 OFFICERS
WERE ATTEMPTING OTHER
ARRESTS. SEVENTEEN OF THE 51 VICTIM OFFICERS FELONIOUSLY
KILLED WERE EMPLOYED
BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN THE SOUTH, 14 IN THE WEST, 8
IN THE MIDWEST, 8
IN THE NORTHEAST, AND 4 IN THE U.S. TERRITORY OF PUERTO RICO.
FORTY-SIX OF THE
51 VICTIM OFFICERS WERE KILLED BY SUBJECTS USING FIREARMS (32
HANDGUNS, 9
RIFLES, 2 SHOTGUNS, AND 3 FIREARM TYPES NOT REPORTED). FOUR
VICTIM OFFICERS
WERE INTENTIONALLY KILLED BY SUBJECTS USING MOTOR VEHICLES AS
WEAPONS. ONE
VICTIM OFFICER WAS KILLED BY SUBJECT USING HIS/HER PERSONAL
WEAPONS (HANDS,
FISTS, FEET, ETC.). TWENTY-NINE VICTIM OFFICERS WERE
CONFIRMED TO BE WEARING
BODY ARMOR AT TIME OF INCIDENT, 6 WERE CONFIRMED TO NOT BE
WEARING BODY ARMOR,
AND BODY ARMOR USAGE HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED FOR 16 VICTIM
OFFICERS. THERE HAVE
BEEN 48 SEPARATE INCIDENTS IN WHICH THESE 51 VICTIM OFFICERS
HAVE BEEN SLAIN.
ALL 48 INCIDENTS HAVE BEEN CLEARED BY ARREST OR EXCEPTIONAL
MEANS.
FORTY-ONE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTALLY
KILLED. DURING SAME
TIME PERIOD IN 2013, 49 OFFICERS WERE ACCIDENTALLY KILLED.
CIRCUMSTANCES
INVOLVING THE 41 OFFICERS ACCIDENTALLY KILLED IN 2014 ARE AS
FOLLOWS: 26 WERE
INVOLVED IN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS, 6 WERE INVOLVED IN
MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS, 5
WERE FATALLY STRUCK BY VEHICLES, 2 WERE ACCIDENTALLY SHOT, 1
DIED FROM SMOKE
INHALATION, AND 1 OFFICER DROWNED. EIGHTEEN OF THE 41 VICTIM
OFFICERS
ACCIDENTALLY KILLED WERE EMPLOYED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
IN THE SOUTH, 12
IN THE WEST, 7 IN THE NORTHEAST, AND 4 IN THE MIDWEST.
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