You don't have to reach too far back in the archives here to see how remarkable I think our daughters are. Each of them in her own way. Amazing young women- all three. And if you follow this blog, you know how much I write about and how proud I am of our firefighter- perhaps to a fault. I planned to put this up today because yesterday, for the first time, I saw her on a call. We were on our way for our morning walk at the park when the fire horn went off. Her pager barking out the code for the call, she pulled over in front of the firehouse and handed me her keys. It was a little crazy, cars and trucks arriving from all over the village, volunteers pouring out onto the street, running, darting into the house. The engines on, lights awhirl, commands and adrenalin in the air. One man sprinted up the hill in his necktie, pulling it off as he ran. In a few moments, I saw her in the window of the first truck, pulling on the last of her gear, hanging on as the truck bolted out and up the hill. She didn't look at me- probably wished her mom wasn't there watching. And in an hour or so, she called me to come back and pick her up. We had lunch, let another summer day drift by.
It was yesterday that I chose this image from the Memorial Day parade for this post because it captured the irony of our girl in this role. But today, after the stunning tragedy and loss of nine firefighters in Charleston, I see it differently. It strikes me as a very sobering remembrance of those cherished and precious lives- men and women outside their uniforms and their duty. Loved ones, with families at home, Father's Day cards still on the kitchen table, everyday lives in everyday clothes. In a heartbeat, they set it aside, change into their gear, trading their safety for ours. Every day.
I look at the AP photo of the firefighters in the same gear she wears. Today my motherly pride shudders. And I keep rewriting this, hoping to express our true condolences for the terrible loss of their heroes. Thoughts from so far away, but I can't get hold of the words for such heartbreak. We feel it deeply, and we are so sorry.
