Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A Great Hero Passes the Baton

Today is my husband's last day as a firefighter. He's been on the job for about 32 years. He has loved every minute of it! He would argue that point saying that he loved fighting the fire, but hated the 3am rescues of people who called because they couldn't sleep.

I was invited to the fire station to join in the send off. The celebration was from 10am to 3pm. Engine after engine came through with all of the firefighters wishing him well. Each had something wonderful to say about him. I heard so many AJ stories, most of which had us laughing until our sides ached. I can't tell you how many took me aside to tell me about the positive effect he's had on  their careers. One guy said, "we've all heard of the man's man, well AJ is the firefighter's firefighter." Being in a room with so many who put their lives on the line every day was humbling. Listening to them attribute much of their skill to the time my husband spent training them was really over the top!

This has been an awesome brotherhood and I have been blessed to be able to see it in action. At the end of the day (mine, not his, he's still at work) we were taken to dinner by the guys in his station. It was hilarious driving up in the engine and watching the valet try to figure out if he should offer to park the big red thing. Of course he wasn't allowed to. So the engineer parked it on a side of the parking lot opposite rows of Bentleys and very high end Mercedes. Frankly, our ride cost just as much, if not more, than theirs. *smile*

Today has been wonderful. The best part of it is knowing that I will have the privilege of sharing his company for the rest of my life! Happy Retirement AJ. We all love you.

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