It's safe to say my brain is wired to have an emergency plan prepared no matter what situation I enter. That's just the nature of a kid who grew up in a household with first responder parents. I proudly tell others my mother is a registered nurse in a pediatric epilepsy unit and my dad was a New Jersey state trooper for 28 years, and just recently rejoined a police unit. Appreciation for first responders runs through my veins, and that is something that most definitely will not change.
I still have some of my earliest memories of my dad's troop car. White, blue, and gold with that impressive NJSP logo on the side. After school, my brothers and I would play together in the front yard, eagerly awaiting the moment daddy pulled into the driveway. In due time, the NJSP garnished vehicle would slowly inch down the cul-de-sac and we would hear our dad's deep voice over the PA system, saying the goofiest things that made us sprint into his arms in a big embrace. There are the infamous photos of us as babies in his police hat, oversized and weighing us down, and fond memories of seeing my dad rush from a major incident at work to come watch my third grade presentation of the red-shouldered hawk. He arrived adorned in his New Jersey State Police blue and as my peers' jaws dropped at the sight of a police officer in the room, I beamed with pride knowing that was my dad. Yeah, there's always the jokes that having a police officer as a father makes it impossible to date or that I'm always being looked after by his police comrades, but that's not true in the slightest. If anything, having a police officer as a dad has made me incredibly in tune to responding to an emergency, knowing my exits in any situation, appreciation for the sacrifice him and his troop make everyday, and fully aware of the sacrifice, thought, planning, and training that goes into responding to any call that comes his way.
My mom is one of the most caring and passionate women you will meet, empathetic and in tune to others needs. Having a mom as a nurse was always the greatest benefit. Our bathroom closet was always filled to the brim with ace bandages, three types of band-aids, Motrin, Advil, Sudafed, coughing medicine, you name it. We were stocked up. My mom knows her stuff, she knows treatment protocol like the back of her hand, and knows how to make you feel so loved and comforted each and every time she offers her care. I can't count the number of times she was the first out on the soccer field when a teammate was injured or got the wind knocked out of her, she was the first there to calm them down and provide the treatment and the necessary protocol. It didn't even have to be her own child and she would be out in a heartbeat to make sure they were okay. The benefits may have come in a personal nurse on my sick days home from school, but more so in knowing that I had the most genuinely caring mother on the face of the planet. I definitely missed that the most after I went to college, relying on peers to check in on me and the health center professionals to provide an explanation of my sickness. No doubt, each time I became a little under the weather, there was a call home asking for mom's verification. I have followed in her footsteps with a medicine cabinet stocked up with every medication you could ever imagine, but more importantly, I look to lead my life with the empathy my mom and other nurses display to each and every patient and family they encounter.
As time progressed, it become more and more aware to me that I did not solely have these bragging rights of my parents' jobs, but I had two of the hardest working parents who have given back more to others in their lifetime than any other human I know. In an era of criticism towards these professions and many false media perceptions of them it is difficult for me to understand that so many individuals do not see the hard work, the empathy, and the selflessness that goes into their daily responsibilities as first responders. My parents' mindset, along with the rest of the professionals in their fields, is to take an oath to protect, serve, and care for whatever emergency situation they encounter. There are unfortunately extremities that spoil the entire perception for these wonderful individuals, but from firsthand experience, please know that they put their lives on the line as a part of their job to keep those safe from harm.
This phenomenon has resonated more with me as I have grown up, knowing that my parents' lives are at risk each and every time they are on the job, but how lucky am I to have such incredible parents who have exemplified the type of character that everyone should strive to have. To have parents who constantly remind me to be a good human. To look up to parents who have helped so many individuals in their lifetime. I hope to model your attributes in my lifetime, whether it by being the mom of the group who always has her bottle of Motrin handy, the girl who picks the most ideal seat in the movie theater by the exit door, or simply the human being that cares for everyone she encounters, and I have you both to thank for it all.
