Change of Heart

I have to confess, when JD first graduated from the academy and insisted on having the seat that faced the door in restaurants and started carrying his gun everywhere (including a very family-friendly dinner at Red Robin when his family was visiting), I made fun of him.  I thought he was being ridiculously over-dramatic... at least until a few days ago when he told me a story about his training officer (or PTO), who ran into a gang member he had arrested while out to dinner with his family.  The guy came at him with a knife, and because JD's PTO wasn't armed at the time, he had to stab him with a fork... in front of his wife and kids.


I'll admit that story terrified me for a day or so, but I think it was exactly what I needed to hear.  While the chances of that happening to us are probably very unlikely (I'm hoping my mom isn't freaking out right now), I need to appreciate the fact that JD is always prepared and would do anything to protect me.  I also realized that I need to start taking responsibility for protecting myself (and our future children), because JD won't always be there to do it for me. 


Luckily, yesterday, one of the officer's in JD's district hosted a cookout.  She has a lot of land, so everyone brought their guns to shoot, and since I was surrounded by police officers (including one who happens to be a shooting instructor), I figured there was no better time for me to learn. 


I think JD was kinda hoping I'd enjoy it.  I won't say that it was fun, but I will say that I now feel comfortable enough to handle the gun, load it, and shoot it (with pretty decent accuracy, as it turns out).  At the very least, I'll go with him to the range once in a while to maintain my comfort level and improve my skill.