Of course, being the daughter of a firefighter means testing the fire alarms regularly and quickly crawling out of the house to reach the tree that sits a safe distance of 100 feet from the house. I remember directly asking if I could go snatch my cat really fast, but of course my dad told me no, not unless she happens to be right beside you, then you can pull her by the ear. At the time, this was so silly to me. The fire drills just seemed like something my dad did for fun, not a real disaster that could potentially happen. As I have grown older, all the silly things have actually come to have deep meaning. He was actually doing this for our protection and safety.
My dad has seen so much pain, hurt, and suffering because of bad ideas or just pure accidents. He’s witnessed families devastated by the loss of loved ones in house fires because they did not know how to get out of the burning house or their fire alarm was not working. Not only does he deal with fires, but he is called to most places where people dial 911, also known as an emergency responder. So my dad has seen people stuck in cars and viewed bodies that were thrown out from a car onto the highway. With everything that goes on in the world, he grows a little more protective of me. I grew up as a very precautious girl and at times, being the daughter of a firefighter seemed very limiting, but in turn, it has given me much more.
One of the things I caught onto very quickly was getting things done the right way. There’s not much room for error in the real world, and certainly not on an emergency call. There is limited time and a mistake could make matters deadly. My dad taught me to think quickly and do things until I reached near perfection.
When you hang up the phone or leave the house, you say, “Goodbye, I love you.” Every morning when my dad leaves, he comes into my room to tell me bye, because we never know what might happen. My dad puts himself in danger every time he goes to work. He also knows that he would never want to end up with the horrifying pain some of the family’s feel who have lost their loved ones and the regret of not saying goodbye.
I remember being in a car seat for a lot longer than my friends did, and it was quite the embarrassment. I had to hit a certain height, not age, to finally be able to get rid of it. This also goes for a lot more things as well. I have learned to ALWAYS wear my seat belt when I am in the car, because many more people die when they don’t wear it than when they do. Too many deaths are caused by not wearing them, so I have become an advocate for seatbelts, helmets, and car seats.
9/11 is a very important date to the Americans, as it is in our home. It’s a date where we take time to remember those who lost their lives and ones who willingly put down their lives. I believe that no other group of people would be more willing to walk into those burning buildings than courageous and selfless firefighters would. It terrifies me that my dad, like them, would have gone into buildings. However, it makes me very proud to say that I belong to such a family that would even consider such a thing.
I am proud that my father loves doing what he does. Every day awaits something different and he is always willing to help out even if it brings him physical or mental pain. My daddy is my hero. Thanks for doing what you do; it is not said enough.
