Sidelined—Benched—Taken Out of the Game

Whatever term you use, it’s that moment when the player is removed from the game and has to watch from the sidelines as the game goes on. Sometimes, that is what it is like being a firefighter’s wife.

I wake up each day to a new game of Life. Except in this game, the players are real. When Mr. Handsome is leaving for a fire shift, I squeeze him a little tighter knowing the game could change in an instant. Sure, it’s true everyday and in every profession, I’m just offering you a taste of what it’s like for me—for my sisterhood of fire wives and their families.

The game can be going well. Then, without a moment’s notice—sidelined, benched!

There is nothing like watching your own game of life from the sidelines. Recently, there was a restaurant fire in our town. I was at home working on something on the computer. I had no idea anything was happening until I received a text message inquiring if my husband was on-shift. He was. Then, it was explained to me that there was a fire. Fortunately, that text came from my sister who worked within view of the fire so I was able to touch base with her throughout the ordeal. However, that didn’t stop the gut-wrenching feeling of knowing my husband and his fire family were battling blazes.

Social media frenzy makes this situation and others the hardest part of being sidelined. When this fire happened, there was a Live Facebook video made on a local news page. The comments from people who like to hype up situations never consider the families affected. There were graphic comments made suggesting that people were laid out, unconscious in the restaurant parking lot! Yet, there was not a single soul harmed in this fire. Can you just imagine what sidelined life would have looked like had I not had my sister close enough to the situation to assure me that those firefighters and other first responders were fine?

It was several hours before I heard from my husband that day. This is only one occasion. There have been countless. There will be countless more. The feeling of uneasiness while waiting on that call or text that says all is well will never cease. Yet, I know the game must go on.

For me, that means relying on my faith in God and the assurance that this is a well-trained fire department.

This is Fire Life.