“What’s it like being with a firefighter?”
Hmm, well let me see…
It’s the sharp sound of a pager going off at any given time of the day stopping time right in it’s tracks.
It’s the automatic adrenaline rush that hits and instantly takes over his body when a call comes through.
It’s dropping everything that you’re doing so he can leave fast enough to make a truck.
It’s the frantic sight of him running as fast as he can to get his shoes on, grab his keys, and get out the door.
It’s the extra sad look that lingers on his daughter’s face as she watches her favorite person in the world leave.
It’s the sound of his truck tearing out of the driveway and going down the road at upwards of 80mph.
It’s the plans you got all ready for and had made for days now all of a sudden going out the window.
It’s your mind constantly nonstop racing wondering what the call was for and what exactly happened.
It’s the family dinner that you had worked so hard to make sitting out on the dining table getting cold.
It’s worrying not only about him and his safety, but also the other crew and parties involved in the call.
It’s checking your phone every 5 seconds to see if you’ve received a message with an update from him.
It’s laying in bed wide awake because you can’t sleep not knowing if he’ll return back home to you.
It’s letting out a big sigh of relief when you finally hear his truck pull in and the driver’s door open.
It’s making sure to hold him extra tight when he’s silent after a rough call with a not so very happy ending.
It’s having to wake him up in the morning for work because he’s exhausted and didn’t get much sleep.
Most importantly, it’s him not being with his family so he can go out and protect yours.
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So yes being with a firefighter definitely isn’t always easy, but at the end of the day I can honestly say I wouldn’t want it any other way. I wrote this late one night when I couldn’t sleep because Mike got paged to a big house fire, and I’m posting it tonight on my blog while he’s currently at another big fire. I wait up every time there’s a fire to make sure he makes it back home to us. I think worrying is only natural when it comes to this stuff.
My ending note on this will be- Take the time to thank and appreciate not only firefighters, but all first responders who risk it all and put their lives on the line to ensure that you and your loved ones are always safe and protected. 
