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My Husband, The Cop

I am proud of my husband and his profession but I don’t need to broadcast it everywhere. You are out in a social setting and it never fails, someone new asks what your LEO does for a living. Maybe your first instinct is to jump on the table and announce with enthusiasm that you have your very own cop! Hold on Warrior. There is a series of mental check marks that we need to hit first.

When I find myself in this situation, chances are that I have been in the conversation long enough to begin to judge that person’s character. If I am asked, my first response is always me telling them that my husband works for the city. As conversation progresses and my sensors open me up to sharing, I will tell them that my husband works in law enforcement. If I am asked if he’s a police officer, I share. If not, I leave it be.

Why Vigilance is Important

The reason we have to be vigilant in regards to who we share this information with is simple:

1. As a LEO Warrior, you probably have your fair share of safety concerns that surround your LEO’s profession. You (and your LEO) always want to keep you safe. We don’t feel safe until we are comfortable. Sometimes when we are comfortable we still aren’t safe. This is where judgement and intuition play a huge role in when or if you want to disclose your LEO
2. We don’t want to make it known that we are with a police officer if we don’t know the type of people we are socializing with
3. It is important to remember that just by living in the 21^st century, you are already exposed enough
4. You may not know the political views or social influences of the people you are conversing. At times this could make things, well, uncomfortable
5. We never want to have to fight off the negativity after disclosing our LEO’s profession

What Happens When you Say he is a Cop

When you tell people that he is a cop, one of two things will happen:

1. The person on the receiving end is going to show you their gratitude for your LEO’s daily service
2. The person on the receiving end is going to tell you ‘that story’ of ‘that one time’ when ‘there was a misunderstanding’

I point this out is because occasionally, arrogant individuals will ask you the questions you don’t want to hear. You know, the ones that you feel in your gut when they go along the lines of, ‘don’t you ever worry about…’ or ‘what if (insert words at your free will) happens to him at work?’

I found a great piece that goes into detail about the feelings that LEO Warriors face when placed in such a situation. If you have already decided whether or not you are going to disclose your LEO, you shouldn’t have to face these types of questions.

Show Your Officer Direct Gratitude

Try not to feel the need to gloat about your LEO’s profession with others (I totally get wanting to do this). Instead, strive to show him how much you value what he does. I have found that by expressing my gratitude to my LEO directly, I have let go of the need to brag or spit out my LEO’s profession so easily.

Think about a time when you have felt uncomfortable sharing your LEO’s profession with someone. What actions or topics of conversation made you feel this way? As we reflect on this today, never forget that you are beautiful, you are strong, you are LEO Warriors.