"This part of my life...this, little part...is called, happiness."

July 10th, 2013 was the day I got the call that I prayed I would one day get, for nearly three years. My background investigator for the Sedona Police Department, Detective Dominguez, called me and asked me a question that nearly brought me to tears right there on the phone. "Would you like a job?" he asked. "Yes, more than anyone has ever wanted this job before," I replied. "Well your background is done, and you're now officially a City of Sedona employee," he then said. I could not thank him enough. Before he hung up, he told me not to thank him. He said he just had to make sure I was qualified, and that I should thank myself for living a life that qualifies someone for a profession that has so much responsibility and trust.

After I got off the phone, I sat down on the couch with Kathy, Lexi and Izaac. Izaac was propped up on a pillow just hanging out, Lexi was standing on the living room table, planning to jump on to her mommy, and Kathy sat there and just smiled. She was kind of in shock, because it is finally now official. We spoke about what the next steps were (meeting him at the uniform store in Phoenix to order uniforms and other things) and about my start date, which is Monday August, 12th.

I told Kerry, my manager at Brookfield, yesterday. Coincidentally, we had a scheduled 'one on one' at 10 AM, so this was the perfect opportunity to break the news. It was hard for me to do, and I felt bad for leaving, but Kerry sounded very happy and excited for me.Today at work, we had a quick huddle with the whole team so Kerry could break the news to everyone else.

Now that I know my official start date, and Brookfield knows that I am leaving, reality is starting to set in. In less than a month, I will be wearing a uniform with a badge, gun, and handcuffs. I remember as a kid playing with police cars on the kitchen floor, making traffic stops on other toy cars. I am very excited, and now all that work and time I put into the ten month long academy finally feels like it was worth it.

In the next weeks I will continue reading up on Arizona Revised Statues to keep my mind sharp, and even start looking over maps of Sedona in order to get myself familiarized with the area. My last day at Brookfield will be August 7th, which gives my family and I a few days to be together without work, possibly a trip to San Diego.

I am so happy and grateful that God has given me this opportunity, and fulfilled my prayers. I hope that I am as good as a police officer that I know I can be! I am truly blessed.