Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my first ever blog, “Police to Parent”! I have been a police officer here in British Columbia, Canada for 10 1/2 years. I’ve been married for four years to an 11 1/2 year police officer and together we have two tyrants… errrr…. little boys, ages 4 and 2 (you’ll get to hear a lot about them soon enough).

The creation of this blog was derived from a simple question posed to me during a routine counselling appointment a few days ago: “What do YOU enjoy doing for yourself”? After hearing the question, I squirmed as if he had just asked me what pant size I currently wear. I was dizzy and my mouth suddenly felt like it had been stuffed with cotton balls, so I nervously began sipping water as a lame effort to pass seconds on the clock. The counsellor silently inched forward in his seat and leaned towards me, affirming that he could see the panic on my face. I stared at him as his brows raised with encouragement. He prodded some more. “Come on, Jenn, what is it that you like to do? There has to be something.” I opened my mouth and softly whispered, “I.. I just don’t know anymore.

Look, my family obviously brings me utmost joy. The smell of turkey at Christmas brings me joy. Heck, a fresh load of warm laundry can get me hot and bothered… but what do I, JENN, like to do when those things are not present?! I was stunned that such a simple question had left me suddenly speechless.

I left my counsellor’s office and ran to my minivan as to avoid the wind and rain. I immediately began to obsess over my answer as water pounded my windshield while I slowly backed out of the parking lot. I began to repeat our conversation in my head and muttered angrily to myself…. “Come on, why didn’t you say you love concerts and reading and biking!?” I continued to drive and slowly began to realize my truth. I haven’t been to a concert since City and Colour was in town back in 2013. I read, alright… Instagram posts and memes… they count, right? Oh, and biking? I did that a few times this summer where I confirmed that giving birth would be less painful than peddling up a 10% incline.

I eventually pulled into my driveway and turned off my van. Tears began to stream down my face as I began to acknowledge that somewhere in between building my career in law enforcement and building my family, I had completely lost who I was. Similar to how some friendships diminish and soon evaporate, my life had become so ritualistic and over-scheduled that I forget to “water” the most important flower in the pot: ME.

Over the next few days, I mulled over my counsellor’s question and identified a few things that I like to do. When I was younger, I used to journal as a means of escape. I believe that perhaps blogging could be a great way to share my experiences in life, work, and motherhood and hopefully connect with others going through similar life events. So, let’s try this 🙂

Thank you for stopping by and don’t forget to subscribe!

Talk soon,

Jenn