I grew up as the daughter of a New Jersey State Trooper. He has a stricter parenting style because of his professional background and when I was younger I used to hate that my dad was a cop but now I appreciate it. It wasn’t (and still isn’t) easy to have a stricter father than most of my friends but I think it’s also a blessing in disguise.
When I was really little I used to think that I could reach my dad at work by calling 911. Once I realized that my dad didn’t answer, I would hang up. This resulted in the State Police showing up to my house various times and a frantic babysitter. I was pretty young when my dad got called to help with the recovery operation of Katrina in Louisiana and got scared when he said he didn’t know when he would be back. I may not have understood at the time but now I look back and feel so proud that my father helped during that devastating time.
As I got older I started to realize that my dad was stricter than my friends’ parents were. Every time I made plans he would have 20 questions. Where are you going? What are you doing there? Who is going? Who is driving? When will you be home? He got stricter when I entered high school and had to know where I was at all times. Looking back this isn’t really a bad thing but it was annoying for my teenage-self. Eventually, my friends and I started to get our driver’s licenses, which was supposed to mean more freedom. In New Jersey there are laws requiring first year drivers to be off of the roads by 11pm and limiting them to just one other passenger unless there is a parent present. To be honest, most of the 17-year-olds that I knew didn’t quite follow these rules all the time. They were allowed to drive if it was just after 11pm and their parents didn’t usually mind if they had two passengers in the car. I know that this is technically illegal, but I’m just saying that most kids I knew bent the rules to some degree. However, there was no bending for me. If I was out at night and it was 10:45 my father made sure that I was on my way home. If I pulled into my driveway at 11:05 my dad was annoyed. And there was no chance I was allowed to drive with more than one of my friends in my car.
My dad never talked about his day at dinner. He wouldn’t talk about the people he had to chase down or the horrific accident scene he had to report to. I realize that he was doing that to protect my sister and I from the true danger in the world.
Now that I’m older, I see this as a blessing. My father is a strict, overprotective parent who has so much love for me. He is always worried about the absolute worst happening, but I know that’s because he’s seen the absolute worst. He’s overprotective because he knows what can really happen on the streets. He has been through an intense training school, worked long hours and eventually was in charge of entire squads. He’s been trained to expect the worst and I now understand why it’s so hard to bring a boy home. For some reason I view police officers as friends, I guess it’s because I’ve met a lot of my dad’s colleagues and they’re all great people who genuinely want to protect us.
My dad has been retired for a few years now, and I’m honestly relieved. I wasn’t fully aware of the nature of his work when I was younger but if he were still out there working I would probably be fearful. I’m grateful to have been raised the way that I was, I wouldn’t be who I am without my father. So, shout out to you dad, thanks for being the toughest, strictest and most loving father ever.