Last week my Spanish professor was making small talk before class started and asked what my parents did for a living. When I told him my Dad was a fireman, his reply was “Wow! You must be proud. He's the one running in, while the others are running out." That sincere appreciation coming from a professor I had only known for a few months made me realize again the sacrifice our first responders make. And I don't know if I have ever said these exact words out loud, but I am so proud to be the daughter of a fireman who risked his life every day for others. Even though he recently retired after almost 30 years on the job, I am still proud of all he did and continues to do. As a child of a fireman, I know there is more to it than just the heroic stories I got to hear when my Dad got home from a shift. It's also about missed holidays, long phone calls when you can't talk in person, a few perks, and truly knowing what the word sacrifice means. And with all of that knowledge and experience, there are trademarks that show you are a child of a fireman.
1. You appreciate phone calls more
Your parent wasn't always home, so you appreciated the calls to say goodnight or to find out how each other's days went. It wasn't the same, but it was close enough.
2. You learned how to talk to strangers on the phone very early
3. You realize holidays aren't always dates on the calendar, sometimes it's whenever you get to spend it together
Sometimes holidays and birthdays had to be shifted depending on your parent's schedule that week. They are most likely not celebrated in the traditional ways, but those special traditions are a unique quality of your family. We learned to cherish the years we did get to spend the actual holiday like a normal family. No matter what day we celebrated, we were all together and that's what truly mattered.
4. You can't take most police, medical, or fire shows seriously![]()
Now don't get me wrong, I watch Law and Order: SVU all day marathons, and never miss an episode of Chicago PD, but sometimes I just have to wonder if they are trying to make it not seem realistic. Watching these episodes with my firefighter father always bring out the sarcastic comments about how gracefully that firefighter jumped from building to building or how perfectly timed the fireman just missed a wall of fire falling inches away from his head. I know its just TV and not supposed to be real life, but we have a special ability to seek out the exaggerations.
5. You have an uncanny ability to be able to tell what kind of emergency vehicle is approaching just by the sirens.
It's become a game with my friends that if an emergency vehicle passes by I guess what kind it is. Now I admit I get it wrong sometimes, but it's like a super power from growing up hearing those sirens blaring while at a firehouse visit.
6. You still love parades no matter how old you are
This is one seriously awesome perk. In the town my Dad worked in, all of the first responders got to walk in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. We would go out and buy cool shirts and candy to throw to the kids on the streets. It felt like walking the red carpet with all eyes on you. This was one thing I never grew tired or embarrassed of even as I got older.
7. You know that family isn't always just the one you're blood related to
Now, I got the best of both worlds, because I had blood related family on the force, and also got to witness the family my Dad had built with the other men and women after almost 30 years with some of them, maybe even more years if they went to school together too. We had summer BBQ's and made visits to the firehouse whenever we could. Seeing the bond my Dad had with his guys, no matter how long it had been truly showed me that family doesn't have to be blood related.
8. You have nicknames for everyone
Whether it was because I was too young to be able to pronounce the name, or I heard the nickname from my Dad too many times to know anything else, there was never a shortage of nicknames through the firehouse. Some were funny, while others were a shorter, less complicated version of their real names. For example, I used to call one of my Dad's bosses Pop Pop George; one of my Dad's guys got the nickname Sqeege because he washed windows on the side. One of my personal favorites was the nickname Joe Hot Dog, because the guy would only eat hot dogs on shift. Those nicknames have even continued today, and even though I may sound like a five year old saying them, it's second nature. I would call one of the guys Captain Pete, even after he was promoted to Deputy and Chief. Or we have a saying, "don't Joe Burn the *insert food type*" after a guy who would touch all the food before choosing which one he wanted. And through conditioning from your childhood, you automatically have nicknames for all of your friends, and more than likely your family has a lot of nicknames for you.
8. Your parent has come in to do fire safety in your school and it'll all anyone talked about for weeks afterwards
While it was just another day for you, your classmates would stand in awe in front of the emergency vehicle and with the equipment on. Everyone would tell me how cool my Dad was, but I already knew that (and being the child I was, I loved the attention it got me for a few extra days).
9. It is easy for you to go with the flow when unexpected changes happen
You can't help when they got called into overtime or the guy after them never showed up to his shift. But sometimes these changes were the best surprises, like when at the last minute a guy would cover so my Dad could be home on Christmas morning with us. Going with the flow is certainly a trait any family member of a first responder learns quickly, or else you will never cherish the moments that do go as planned.
10. The smell of smoke may actually smell good to you
After a 24-hour shift, I could smell my Dad as soon as he walked in the door. No matter how many times his work shirts got washed, the smell of smoke was still there. And while some people hate the smell, it meant that my loved one was finally back home and safe.
11. Not just your mom knows how to cook
Take out food is expensive, and so my Dad and his guys had to figure out a much cheaper way to have meals if they didn't want to eat pizza all day every shift. Because of this I am lucky enough to have another parent in the house who can cook us a great meal if my mom is running late, or just doesn't feel like cooking that night.
12. Breakfast was an important part of the day
Most department's shifts run for 12 or 24 hours. Either way, it's not your typical work day time structure. My Dad was on "24 on 72 off" shifts and so that meant that we sometimes got to catch him right before leaving for school (sometimes with munchkins in hand). So as important as family dinner were to us, breakfast was the happy time when Dad came home.
13. You never take for granted the time you have with a loved one
The jobs our parents have are dangerous; there is no way around it. As my Spanish professor pointed out, they are the ones running in while everyone else is running out. There was always a chance of injury, or worse, during every shift, but you learn to not worry about that or else you'll never enjoy anything when your loved one isn't around. You realize that they are making the ultimate sacrifice because they are doing what they love every shift, and your only choice is to love them for just that.
