The boys were still at home, clueless as to why their mom left and their grandparents unexpectedly came to play.
This is one area where God’s hand over our family was evident to me…. I have no family that live near me and my sister is the closest but still over an hour away. The day before Mike was killed she had a beautiful baby girl, so my parents and grandparents were at her house, visiting. God planned that perfectly. Instead of being 5 hours away on this horrific night they were only one hour away.
When I got home from the hospital the boys were playing pool out in the barn with my dad and my grandpa. I have no idea how my family kept it together and made that evening seem like a normal, fun night to the boys.
After being home for a while, I took the boys into our bedroom. This was the absolute hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I had to look into those innocent eyes of our little boys and tell them their daddy wasn’t coming home.
The next 6 days leading up to the memorial flew by. I had to attend meeting after meeting, open my home to visitor after visitor, make one important decision after another. I had to be professional, put together. The graceful wife of the fallen officer.
On the inside I was absolutely dying.
One of the things the boys and I found most comforting were the officers taking watch outside of our house, around the clock. They made sure the boys and I were safe, sheltered from media or unwanted visitors, and cared for. These men and women took these shifts for over two weeks. They gave us such comfort and peace. Some of the officers I had never met before and many of them were close friends. All of them were working extra hours over and above their normal shifts, leaving their own families all to make sure their fellow brother’s family was taken care of. That’s what we do in this family of blue.
I quickly realized we were not preparing for a typical memorial service. We were preparing for an event for thousands of people to attend. It would be held at the SAP Center in San Jose, and would be broadcast on the news and streamed online.
I wanted to make sure that this was going to be Mike’s service, not just another scripted, traditional fallen officer memorial.
Because this was not any fallen officer.
This was my husband. My boys’ dad. An amazing man of God. I wanted everyone to know that he wasn’t just Officer Katherman.
