PERSONALLY: police wives blogathon

It is no secret that I am married to a police officer. And it really wasn't a surprise that my husband eventually became a police officer. Strangers used to ask him if he was a cop long before he even thought of entering the Academy. What was a surprise is how much his career affects our family and how being a "Police Wife" has almost become a career in itself.

Before anyone gets worked up and compares me to a 1950's housewife, let me assure you that I am not the type of woman to base her identity on her husband's career and accomplishments. I think (I hope) my friends and family would back me up on that. I'm independent, determined and strong, with goals and interests that have absolutely nothing to do with my husband's career choice. But when your other half wears a badge, it affects every single part of your lives in ways that you would never expect. Some aspects of it are wonderful and others are more of a struggle. So far, I think we've managed the Police Family thing pretty well and I owe alot of the credit to Police Wives Online. PWO is a support and outreach group for police families that I joined just after my husband graduated from the Academy in 2005. It was there that I learned that I'm not the only one who often feels like a single parent, managing everything at home because Daddy sometimes has to work for 16 hours straight, several days in a row. I found out that it is ok to celebrate holidays and birthdays according to our own calendar; drug dealers and rapists work Christmas Day, so the police do too. I learned the definition of a Badge Bunny, the best type of room darkening blinds and how to get the stink out of Kevlar. I learned that there is a very large, very tight-knit law enforcement community that rallies and supports one another when the unthinkable happens.

This Saturday, April 25th, there is a 24 hour blogathon in support of Police Wives Online. The money raised will benefit some of our existing service programs as well as some really exciting plans we have for the near future (shhh.... it is still a big secret!). The event is organized by MJ, author of Note To Self ("Southern charm mixed with West Coast snarkiness"). She, along with a handful of others, are going to blog for 24 hours straight in return for your donations to the cause. MJ is funny on a regular day, so I can only imagine what she will say at hour 21 when she is loopy and hopped up on Red Bull. To learn more visit the PWO blog and please consider making a per pledge post or even just a small donation. Every little bit helps.