Project 365- Day 17

My husband has been a police officer since before my son was born. The little guy has never known his dad to do anything else. When he was younger, the weird hours were always a little tough since he often went days without seeing his dad if my husband left before the little man woke up and was home after he had already gone to bed. Nights when the little guy would wake up at some odd hour were usually a welcome treat for them both. As he got older, my son sort of accepted the routine which often meant dinners, vacations, holidays, and lots of bedtimes with just the two of us.
But he never seemed to really be bothered by what his dad was actually doing while they were apart.
Now that he is older, it is a lot harder. Just when I thought it would get easier we have quickly realized that our son is a very sensitive guy. He gets upset if someone even pretends to mess with his little sister, he cries when he thinks about his favorite cat he lost two years ago, and lately he has been crying over his dad going off to work.
I don't know if it is the reality of what his dad does or if he just misses him a whole lot, but these last couple of weeks have been tough. We try to shield him from the news and the details of what being a police officer entail but he's a smart kid and I am sure he must know some of the danger. We pray every night before bed and in those prayers we ask for protection for his dad and his safe return home to us.
With my husband's schedule changing recently it has also meant he sees him every weekend but not so much during the week and I think that is also affecting him.

Yesterday when my husband had only thirty minutes to shower, dress, and head off to work, he grabbed the kids and spent twenty five of his precious minutes in the hot tub with them, one of the kids favorite places to be. When he could have been enjoying a quiet, relaxing shower, slowly waking up from awkward day time sleep, he decided that seeing his kids even for a few minutes was worth so much more.

Quite honestly, that's the kind of stuff that really makes him a true hero to us.