Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...January 20, 2009

Today I woke up like many Americans with the bright hope for a great new future for our country. Not like all of our problems can be solved overnight, but the amount of hope that is shining out there is catching.

I had the same hope today when I went to talk about my daughter's placement and recent situation. Because of privacy, I cannot post what we did today, but suffice to say that I have been strong throughout my entire ordeal and hiring an attorney to help us sort out decisions was the best advice I received. The fact that the attorney happens to be in our fire department gave me added security and moral support.

At the end of the very long day and on the way back to the shelter, a few unspeakable events occurred, with the ending of my daughter running away from the shelter. She didn't get far, thank God, and the local police brought her back. I can't begin to say how frightened all this made me. I was thinking "What is this kid thinking??" I realized on my way home that although we try to point our children in the right direction, at some point we have to let their own lives play out and just hope and pray the Mother of God watches over them. I just sat there, cried and prayed, until I saw the police car bring her back.

All my friends on http://Firefighternation.com have been so supportive, as well as some people in authority, that I can see how I am changing. It's funny or prophetic I would say. As I type on my laptop, I look up and look at my Firefighter sun catcher that I bought during the Convention in Cape May in September. My eye keeps catching the word "fighter". That's what I intend to do the whole way through until my daughter is in the right place.

This morning I started the day by being scared. Then I remembered who I was and I wasn't scared anymore.

Denise Broesler