Gabe had a thrill today when we went to City Hall to renew Roxy's dog license. As we were walking down the steps from the second floor, he spied the "Most Wanted" photos on the wall and asked me "Are those the men the police are trying to kill?"
I laughed and said "No, they're just trying to catch them."
As we walked past the police station/door on the first floor, he leaned over and asked me "Where are the policemen? Can't I see one?"
Feeling sort of foolish, I marched him to the window and asked, rather sheepishly, if my son could see a police officer. The lady at the desk seemed to think this was the cutest thing she'd heard all day. She quickly went to go find someone. Gabe was rather excited. "Do you think he'll be wearing a hat?" He asked me.
Pretty soon, an officer (without a hat, but with a gun!) came out and was kind enough to take a few minutes to shake Gabe's hand, show him his badge, and even show him his office and give him a few gifts, such as a plastic police badge, a police magnet, some pencils and a hackey sack. Then he took Gabe out back to see the police cars. Gabe got to hear the siren and see the lights, which he found very exciting, but he was too nervous to get close to the car.
After we thanked the officer and left, Gabe realized "MOM! We forgot to ask to see the jail!!!" He was pretty disappointed. I'm not even sure if there IS a jail at the City Hall ... it's probably located somewhere else ... but now, Gabe wants to be a police officer or a fireman for "next Halloween."
Look out fire department ... you might be next on our hit list!! :)
(the photo is of Gabe, proudly displaying his new police badge)
5 comments:
Wow, awesome!! Kat, you may have felt shy, but at least Gabe knows that he can trust police officers now that he's spoken to a "real one" himself. It was probably a great educational lesson for him. (And I bet he'll brag to all of his friends about it.)
I love it! We had Uncle Keith to show off the police way - I think it's totally cool. Write a human interest story!!
By the by - is Amy who posts your friend Amy who lived in France?
We want to GO to France - and I need to know where to stay (after Paris) if we want to relax and take in the culture, the pace, etc.
Yep! That's my college roomate Amy (of Amy and Colin) who lived in France for a year! :) I'm sure she'd be glad to share travel tips with you. Her blog link is on the left-hand side of my page.
Gabe looks so proud! What a great idea, mom! Way to go and make the most of a "teachable moment!"
I'm glad Gabe had a positive police experience. It's so important to teach kids at a young age that policeman are "good." Last year in one of the parades, Joel drove the lead police car and Isaac and I rode with him. Next time, I'll see if Gabe could come too (I think he'd love that!). Anytime Gabe wants to learn more about what Police Officers do, have him talk to Joel ... he'd be more than happy to share!
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