Aaron's Hero

Last night Derek gave Aaron's Cub Scout den a tour of the police station. He did this for Braylen and Kaleb when they were in 1st grade too, so it's turned into a tradition of sorts. Each time it's been a little bit different. Braylen's group was by far the largest with 15 boys and their parents. Kaleb's tour fell on a very rainy night, so they spent more time with one of the police motorcycles parked in one of the garages. Aaron's group included 8 boys, 8 dads, plus me. :) I was the official photographer for the night. These boys asked silly questions and posed for several silly pictures. Here are some highlights:

• Of all the "tools" on Derek's belt, the taser impressed them the most.
• One little boy wondered where the fire alarms were at, and pointed out there were no fire alarms in the 911 call center.
• Aaron raised his hand and asked if Derek's badge was borrowed. That sure made the dads laugh!
• Aaron also told everyone that his dad used his pepper spray on our dog.
• When Derek explained how the 911 operators answer phone calls on their computers, eliminating the need for phones in the command center, every boy tried his hardest to point out the phones in the room. Eventually their leader told them that if they raised their hands with another phone observation, then they needed to put their hands down.
• Derek explained that police officers wear blue uniforms. What color uniforms do the sheriff deputies wear? One little boy raised his hand and said, "Pink!"
• This is the third time I've been in the men's locker room, and probably my last time. I did like looking at the pictures Derek has in his locker. They're all from when our kids were babies. So sweet.
• At the end of the tour, the leader explained to the boys that police officers are there to help you when you need help. Yes, they take people to jail. But they want to be your friend and help you in your time of need. They are not here to hurt you. I know my husband appreciated that statement very much. I'm amazed at the number of people who will come up to Derek with their children and say, "If you're naughty then this officer will take you to jail." That is so not true. I wish they would say, "If you're ever in trouble, this officer will help you. Let's thank him for all he does for our community." Okay, I'll step off my soapbox now. :)
• Aaron stood a little taller last night, so proud that HIS daddy is the police officer.
• When I asked Aaron what his favorite part of the tour was, he replied, "DADDY!"
• Derek handed out pencils and pencil toppers to the boys. Aaron received two pencils and two toppers. He set aside the gold pencil with the gold police badge topper and gave it to Derek as a gift. He slept with his other pencil and topper. Good thing we didn't sharpen it yet. :)

Someday Aaron will grow out of scouts. He might not think it's so cool to have a police officer dad when he's, oh, a teenager. But right now? Aaron's daddy is his hero. I pray that he never grows out of that.

Daddy & Aaron
Oh, how I love both of them!
(sorry it's so cropped, but this is a public blog and I promised Derek I would
never show him in uniform on this blog.)