Change is in the Air

This past week was my last week working the street before starting up in Robbery next week. I had a great week...I rode with with Mike Greenfield almost the entire week...since he's one of my favorite people and one of the best cops I know, I tried to savor every minute. We had fun all week, but didn't get into too much.

Friday was my last shift on the 72F squad. Mike and I had an understanding that we weren't gonna do much, but have a good time...we laughed a lot, went to a call of a motorcycle down, took a long drive (we remained in the city of Phoenix...no worries), we drove all through the beautiful neighborhoods of Arcadia and Camelback Mountain and we had one last squad dinner at Oregano's.

Most of the squad was able to make it. My Lieutenant bought us all dinner and of course embarrassed me by having the servers scream and shout as they delivered the pizza cookie. As my face turned every shade of red, they screamed, along with the entire restaurant, "Congratulations!"

As we pulled into the parking lot at the station to unload, Greenfield said, "This is the last time we're gonna do this."

As I emptied out my locker, I thought back to my last day with DPS. My Sergeant drove me home (in MY patrol car), hugged me (as I was crying) and said, "You're going to be great!" I felt so excited to be switching over to Phoenix, but so sad to leave my DPS family. I was never unhappy or mistreated...I only left because I wanted more than DPS could offer me.

I've been struggling this week (and last) with my decision to leave patrol after only 5 1/2 years. I love wearing the uniform and working patrol. I know this is a great opportunity and in police work...things never remain the same. My sergeant will most likely finish #1 on the Lieutenant's test (because he's the best) and my Lieutenant's retirement party is on January 31st, 2009. All the officers will start to make their way to another squad or another detail in order to better suit their family or to further their career...it will never stay same.

Although this is by far the best squad I've worked on, it was time for a change. I was burnt out on training, second shift and some of the other crap too. I know once I get settled in with my detective's badge on I will know I made the right decision. This is a decision to better my family and to further my career. This is the "more" that I was looking for when I went from my tan uniform to the blue one.