There Goes My Boy

written from Firefighter Cookie's mother's comments (read Cookie's story To Be a Fireman.)

There goes my boy. He has just run out of the house again and left his tea half eaten, no good byes, no words spoken, no time to put shoes on his feet.

The family is used to this now, but it doesn't get any easier for us as we all worry and wonder where he has gone and when he'll be back. We don't contemplate that one day he may not return to us, for we trust in God.

We are used to being woken at night as he flies out the house like a gust of wind, or leaves us standing in the street as he sprints off, or sometimes we are unwilling passengers in his car, and find that our trip shopping has taken a detour.

But we accept this as a part of him, for my son is a Firefighter, and we know that he is prepared to interrupt his lifestyle in order to help others.

Our hearts swell with pride to see him in his uniform, and to see people admire and thank him for work he has done.

We don't see first hand the scenes that he sees, but we see how it affects him; he tries to hide his emotions from us, but we know him too well and can see when he's hurting.

He may be a fireman, but he's still human, and seeing a baby die still hurts him, as he loves his niece's and children in general.

We experience Christmas and birthday dinners without him, as he's called away out to a job, maybe to clean up someone else's mess. We smell the smoke on him and his overalls when he comes home after fighting the fires, the smell that goes through my clean house and makes it smell like an ashtray; he apologizes, but we don't mind as the smell means he's made it home alive.

Every night we pray for him and his colleagues, as the death of one of them would kill him. They are a part of his family, and therefore a part of ours, as we know most of them whether it be in person or as a name.

Next time you hear the siren that wakes you at night, or when you are having dinner, spare a thought not only for the emergency personnel, but also for their families, who are bound to be anxious and worried about their loved one who leaves them. Think, "What if that's my partner or child running out the door, how would I feel?"

Then say a prayer for all those affected by the siren: the persons in need, the personnel going to help, and please don't forget the family of the personnel, we would appreciate a prayer, too.

Copyright 2002 by author. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the author.