“Officer Down”

There is funeral going on in ‘Seven Hills’ today.  It’s a BIG funeral.  Last Saturday, a local police officer was murdered in his squad car when responding to a car-jacking.  The shooting happened not far from where I live.

A jogger witnessed the shooting and when the killer left the scene, the jogger ran to the squad car, used the police radio and called in “Officer Down.”

Last night, the wake for the officer was held at the community center where I take Goodnight swimming.

Today, hundreds and hundreds of law enforcement personnel have turned out to honor their comrade.

Police officers have been standing on the street since before 6:00 this morning.  Not as many as in the photo below, but they gathered early.

State Troopers filed out to form an honor guard inside the church.

Two ladder trucks with their ladders extended, provided an arch over the street with the American Flag hanging in between.

The church is located atop one of  ‘Seven Hills’  high spots and it is next to the college where I work.

I am a police officer’s widow and my husband’seldest son was a police officer as well, so I stepped outside work to wait for the funeral procession.  The hill-top is usually bustling with noise and activity.  Today it is very still and somber.

My husband did not die in the line of duty, nor was he murdered, so I cannot walk in the new widow’s shoes, but I will stand with her.

The Hand I Used to Hold© Illusion Face Cloth

What’s to say?  I miss her.  Goodnight misses her too.  Neither one of us is fond of Mother’s Day for our own reasons - all understandable.

To honor what we were both feeling last evening as we talked about Mother’s Day, I designed an Illusion face cloth with an image of a hand. 

Goodnight’s mother, my daughter, was an adult when she passed away, so the hand image is not one of a youngster.  I chose to knit the hand in black to give the impression of a shadow.

Isn’t it most appropriate that the hand we miss holding . . . . disappears?

Here’s a link to the PDF file knitting pattern:  Hand I Used to Hold Illusion Face Cloth

I offer this design and knitting pattern as my way of honoring those courageous mothers who know the same loss I do – the loss of a child (no matter the age).

Best wishes on this impending Mother’s Day holiday that leaves some us a little . . . . quieter than usual.