I find it amazing how easy it is for us to go through our every day lives and not truly stop to think about the things that we are lucky to have. Our spouses, our significant others, our kids, our friends, our jobs, our homes, our animals. There are times we stop to take it in, but on the whole we just run through our days never stopping to think about what would happen if they all went away. We take them for granted. And sadly, it often takes a tragedy for us to realize what we once had.
Its been a rough few years in my office. Although I am new here, I have learned a lot about the people I work with and the things they have been through. Two years ago, one of my colleagues lost her young son. Last May, another lost her husband. His name was Robert, and he is what I would like to write about today.
Robert was a Portland police officer. His wife Carol works in my office, and together they have two very young children. Last May, while routinely getting ready for the following day, he accidentally shot himself in the leg, a shot that ended his young life. I'm sure you can imagine what the past six months have been like for Carol and her kids. I met her youngest, a son, a few months ago. When I greeted him, he shook my hand, and it was a nice strong handshake. I told him so and he looked at me and said "My dad taught me that." My heart melted.
At Robert's funeral, it came about that he wrote poetry. After that day community leaders, police officers, artists, photographers, and students all came together to create a project in support of Robert. They created a calendar that is unlike a calendar I've ever seen. Portland police officers, men and women alike, sat down to write their own poetry. These poems are highlighted through the 12 months of the year, including some of Robert's own. Last week the proofs for the calendar were brought into our office to see, and it was incredibly moving. The best word I could use to describe the calendar would be "humanizing." Like our loved ones, and our homes, jobs, etc., we take our law enforcement for granted. Unless you know an officer on a personal level yourself, you often don't think of them as real people, and you just expect them to always be there. This calendar gives them life inside and outside of the force.
The calendars are $15, which I find to be extremely reasonable. 60% of the proceeds will go to Carol and her children, and the rest will fund future projects similar to this. Even if you are unable to buy a calendar, please check out the website. I will say that I don't think the link itself does the photography, artwork, and poetry enough justice. The link to the calendar is here: http://www.artsandequity.us/calendar.htm, and the link to the project can be found here: http://www.artsandequity.us/index.htm
If you take nothing more from this post take this: Go home tonight and hug your family. If they aren't with you, call them, and tell them you love them. Do it because you still can, and try, hard as it is, to never take what you have for granted, because in a fleeting second, it can all be gone.
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