New to the Family

5 years ago, my husband decided to change careers.  He was unhappy with his job at the time, and so we sat down and made a list of possible choices.  He was too old for some, so inexperienced for others.  Somehow, after crossing off 1 idea after another, the final choice was law enforcement.

It fit his personality, required training that was feasible for us, and would provide the pay and benefits necessary for our new and growing family.

So he looked into it, called around, applied, and found out the hard way that become a reserve officer was likely the only way he was going to get his foot in the door.

Luckily, as we live in a small town, surrounded by other small towns, he managed to be picked up by a nearby agency who was willing to sponsor him for the reserve academy.  In our state, you can't simply sign up to go to the police academy...you have to be hired and sponsored by a department.

After 3 years of reserve work and applying at numerous departments (hiring has pretty much been frozen around her for some time), he managed to find a position in a town close enough to keep the commute reasonable.

It was an exciting moment, but I don't think either of us really realized just how long it would take to go from hired to working.  The physical tests, psychological tests, polygraph, etc. can take weeks to months, depending on how quickly appointments can be made.  His interview was last January...he was hired in June...and he left for the academy in August.

And boy, what a change of life that was!  We went from being a "9-5" kind of working family to a "nearly single-parent" family overnight.  His academy is being held several hours away, so he only comes home on weekends.  As a working mom, that has definitely changed our lives a lot!  It was pretty stressful at first (tears and loneliness and such)...just trying to adjust to his absence and having to pick up chores and responsibilities I had always had help with.  It took a good 4 weeks before my son and I fell into a rhythm and our weeks began to feel sort of normal.

Now, my husband is just a few weeks from graduation and we'll be having to adjust to his new schedule.  Luckily, he landed days...but of course, being new, his days will include the weekends.  I guess I can't complain too much.  I'm awfully proud of his accomplishments and am completely happy that his is finally doing what he has wanted to do for so long.  The constant changing of schedules, though, is likely to be tough for awhile.

This is just the beginning of a new journey...a second career for him...a new life for our whole family.