Another Memorial Has Passed

Straying away from my normal family-related posts...

Who ever thought we'd be attending two police memorials one month apart? It's been a roller coaster of emotions during these past several weeks. I don't sit around and worry about Chris every minute of every night, but I do find that I'm needing to keep myself much busier now on nights that he works. Otherwise I become depressed. I continue to be so thankful for my little Owen, who keeps me very occupied!

As the memorial drew closer, it was becoming pretty clear that there was going to be little room for the public at the memorial due to an overwhelming police presence. They assured us that police spouses would be accomodated, but I was nervous that they would be forced to turn us away. Luckily, there was room for family (but not much). Chris and I arrived with plenty of time to spare and right away, we ran into his cousin Allen (Richland PD/SWAT). We visited for a little while before making our way to the SPD section. We saw cops from all over the country, as well as Canada (an estimated 1000 RCMP were present). There were 370 agencies represented in the procession and over 20,000 people, mostly cops, inside the Tacoma Dome.

The memorial was very emotional. I can't say it was as personal as Brenton's memorial (because they were honoring four as opposed to just one) but it was still special. I think the part that hit me the hardest was watching Officer Richards' three children stand up and speak. It took a lot of courage for them to do that and their dad would have been so proud of them. They definitely deserved the huge standing ovation they received. The slideshow followed where they focused on each of the four officers. At the end, they showed pictures and video of the community support. We were surprised to see that Chris made it into the slideshow three times.

Even though I dislike our governor, I do agree with her comment: "We owe the children of these officers, all nine of them, a present and a future that is safe and secure." She has the power to make some changes; let's see if the memorial will inspire her to do so. She hasn't really done anything else except increase state spending by 30 percent (did I just let that fact slip into my memorial post?)

After three-plus hours of honoring these four heroes, the memorial came to an end. I am so thankful that I had an opportunity to be part of the audience today. I just hope that we don't have to attend another memorial for a long, long time.


My mom took the day off from work to stay with Owen today. It sounds like they kept each other pretty busy, but she still managed to find time to bake a homemade turkey pot pie for Chris. She even had it in the oven so he could eat right when we got home. (And he liked it.. ate half in one sitting.) Thanks for everything, Mom :)