Being in love with a first responder emotionally is like a roller coaster, and not even a kiddy roller coaster, its like the Tennessee Tornado roller oaster at Dollywood. The moment I began dating my first responder, I worried about almost everything. You never know what call could be their last. You never know when you will get to kiss them last, hug them last or hear their voice last. It was a huge transition time for my life whenever I began dating my first responder, I would go over to my best friends house and worry and panic the whole time he was out on a call because who knows what could happen out there.
Once I got used to dating a first responder, I started catching glimpses of what its like in their world. All the heartache, the frustration, the sweat and the tears. I began to see things on the news of first responders being shot while just trying to come and help someone, they were just doing their job. I think I can speak for majority of first responder significant others and say that its time we all come together and support our family, friends and citizens who protect us from harm. Here are some reasons we need to all wake up and #BackTheBadge
1. They are the first ones there, and the last ones to leave.
They don't get the name "first responder" for no reason. They are the first ones on scene, they are the first ones there to help someone. They are the first ones there to put a band-aid on a 3 year old's boo-boo, the first ones to wrap up a broken leg, the first ones to see the gruesome reality of a wreck or a fire that took the life of someones love one. They see it first and they try their best to hold it together.
They try their best to keep other people from seeing the chaos going on, but they try to keep themselves focused and not to lose their mind when they see a child struggling to hold on. Once they respond and the scene dwindles away, they are still standing there, cleaning up the mess and replaying the scene over and over again. Some could be regretting it and some could be praying it went another way. They leave the scene and try to brush off everything they saw. Then they're back in service waiting for another call.
2. They try to not let their work come home with them.
From personal experience, I have had my first responder call me after he just left a horrible call and sometimes he would just be silent. He calls me to talk and to try to get his mind off of the scene he just left. He has to call someone to try to let it slip away, but instead he's just silent. Every time, I will sit there and talk to him and try to make him laugh or talk about his day. I ask him what happened, but he never tells me. He doesn't want to bring me into what some first responders call their "dark" world. He wants to leave all the memories of that call at the scene, but those memories will walk with him everyday of his life.
First responders want to be the only ones holding their "demons", because they don't want those memories walking with their significant other, they want us to stay sane so we can be half their sanity.
3. They sacrifice it all for people they barely know.
This is the biggest compliment I could EVER give my boyfriend. This is something he does that honestly, I could never do. I could never speed to a call, not knowing what the next second brings and jump out of the car or engine to run to help someone. They are essentially going into a scene blind because they never know what it awaiting them once they open their door. They never know what could happen once they begin helping the person in need.
It is so hard, being a significant other, hearing the sirens fly by and holding your breath knowing that is someone's heart that is responding to that call. Someone's heart is out there going to keep someone else's heart alive.
4. They give up their family time, to ensure others get to stay with their families.
First responders stay on shift on holidays, birthdays, family events, etc. to try to save someone so they can stay with their family. They sacrifice missing a birthday, their anniversary, Thanksgiving or just a big day in their family because they didn't think twice about it. They understand that their job comes with sacrifice.
Lets back the families of first responders, too, because they give up their loved one to go out there and keep all of us safe. They give up seeing the first responder at family gatherings. They understand that they chose a career of service and they are okay with that. It is something they beam about.
5. They love bigger than anyone else.
First responders love differently. They just do. They appreciate life a little more than others in my opinion. They see someone's life end in front of their eyes. They see a family rushing in the back of the ambulance to be with their loved one being rushed to the ER. They see the blood all over the ground and they see the pain someone is feeling whether it be physical or emotional pain.
Yet, they still love like no other. They love with no end, they love without fear, they love as if there is no tomorrow because they see first hand that tomorrow is NEVER promised. Dating a first responder has honestly taught me how to love differently.
Dating a first responder has taught me so much. It has taught me patience, love, kindness, hope, and it has also taught me to live like there is no tomorrow. I hope that people will wake up and understand that all First responders need is support. They need their neighbors, their friends, their family and their city's support. They need people to back them up when things get tough. We all have got to see that we need to #BackTheBadge.
