It’s a constant issue.

Somebody is missing.

A tall somebody who was always adding a lot of fun and laughs to whatever was going on.

A man of faith whose integrity and character clearly showed through the decisions he made in his life.

He’s missing right this instant because we’re visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Denver and Davey always made sure he spent significant time with his family – no matter where they lived.

There’s a hole in our lives that will never be filled.

Sometimes people use the word ‘heal’ when they’re talking to me and I can’t relate.  There’s a hole.  It’s not going to heal over into a scar and fade away.  Not in this lifetime.

So we’re figuring how to move forward with the hole. 

My grandson graduated from kindergarten last week.  Davey would have been beaming – he loved learning and figuring things out.  He had a double major in college of Psychology and Criminal Justice.  I will never forget when he was studying juvenile delinquency – he told me that a working mother was the highest indicator that a kid would have this problem.   Because I had been working full-time at first getting my degree and then my career since before he was born, I thought this was very interesting.  So I asked him with a smile, “Well, what happened to you?”

That led to a in-depth conversation about how it’s not mother’s working that’s the issue – it’s the faith and values and priorities of those mothers along with the fathers that has the biggest influence on the child.

Davey told me many times how frustrated he was with the fact that many parents today use the police as the bad guys with their children.  “If you don’t behave, the police will come and arrest you.”  Really?  What happened to parents disciplining their children and parents teaching their children to respect authority and the rules?  Is it just easier to wait until they are 15 or 16 and let the police handle it?  Policemen spend a lot of time parenting kids whose parents didn’t do it.

The life of a cop.

He was a great cop….and he is missed.

He was a great son and brother…and he is missed.

He was a great husband and father….and he is missed.

He was a great friend and squad member….and he is missed.

There’s always going to be a hole.

#8144loveyou

We have planted a tree.  It’s right next to Davey’s spot in the Phoenix Memorial Park.  My son, David Glasser, was a Phoenix Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty last year.

I’m calling it Davey’s ‘Love you’ Tree.  It’s giving us just a little bit of shade now but that shade will grow over the months and years as we visit Davey’s spot.

We can stand in the shade of his tree as we remember all of the many great times we shared with him.

And we can stand there as we honor a hero who stood in the thin blue line between the evil ones and the innocent.  We honor a hero who died defending the freedoms that you and I take for granted.

The tree is alive…..

just like we are.

We’re still here for a reason and our job is to figure out what that is.  God has a unique purpose for each of us and it’s not completed yet.  That’s why we are still here.

Men and women like Davey serve and sacrifice every day to protect us and enable us to fulfill our purpose.  The price they pay is very high.

We need to make it count.

And, so, the David Glasser Foundation has been created.  There is much more to do.  There are many more people to love.

As we stand in the shade of Davey’s ‘Love You’ tree, let us each commit to being a positive part of turning the tide of negativity against law enforcement officers.  We are seeing glimpses of possibilities.  With the support we now have from Washington, we can do this.  What’s your part?

I have a favor to ask of you.

When you visit Davey’s spot, please tie a blue ribbon around a branch of his tree and say a prayer for my family.  Your prayers are helping.  And please tie a blue ribbon while you say a prayer for the families of all of our fallen officers – several of their spots are right around Davey’s.  And please tie a blue ribbon while you say a prayer for all of our Blue Family.

I was there on Friday to say some prayers and get the blue ribbons started.

If you don’t live in Phoenix or can’t get to his spot, you can pray and let me know in your comment – I’ll put a blue ribbon on his ‘Love you’ tree for you.

Every time we visit, we will see the blue ribbon evidence of your love and prayers.

And it will encourage us to keep moving forward.

#8144loveyou

Last year, one of the bright lights in my world was extinguished.  My son, David Glasser, a Phoenix Police Officer, was killed in the line of duty on May 19, 2016.

He was a bright light in your world, too, even if you never met him.

We may confuse you with End of Watch dates.  His official date is May 19th but those of us who were with him in the hospital know that he left us on May 18th.  Feel free to use whichever date works for you.

We’re grateful for the medicine and machines that preserved his body on May 18th so that we had some time to say goodbye.  They also made it possible for Davey to fulfill his final wish – he was able to donate multiple organs saving the lives of several more people even after his own death.  Because that’s what heroes do.

He was one of the good guys.  He cared about our community and he committed his life to defending all that is good and right in our world.  He was proud to be part of the thin blue line that stands between the evil ones and the innocent in our country.  He lived a life of integrity and honor while blending in fun and loving life in a unique way that only Davey could do.

His heart was big and open.  Some of you know that because he added you to his group of friends during your first conversation with him.  Others of us have known about his big heart for a long time because he loved us well his entire life.

Davey leaves a legacy of love.

He loved God.  He loved his wife and two small children.  He loved his immediate and extended family.   He loved his Blue Family.  He loved his friends.

He loved sports – all of them.  He was obsessed with the Cardinals and in love with the Diamondbacks as well as all ASU sports.

At Davey’s funeral, James Byrd shared the fact that Davey said ‘Love You’ to his squad members every time he left them.  That surprised me.  As his mom, I heard Davey telling us that he loved us all the time.  But I didn’t know he had extended this habit to work.

Davey not only told his squad members he loved them several times a day – he also insisted that the squad members say ‘Love you’ back to him.  AND he insisted that they say ‘Love you’ to each other before they left.

Davey knew.

He knew how close they all were to never seeing each other again.  He knew how quickly something could happen and he didn’t want anyone to ever question that he loved them.  He knew it was very important so he badgered his squad members to get into the habit as well.

Now we are all very happy that he did.

Because ‘Love you’ has lifted us up out of a place of deep, dark grief many times this last year.

‘Love you’ has challenged us to grow even more genuine in our relationships.  We care more deeply and our lives have become interwoven in a solid foundation of love and support.

‘Love you’ has reminded us that we are still here – our watch hasn’t ended yet.  There is work to be done.  Relationships to be built.  People to love.

“Love you’ has helped us survive the worst.  Our Father God has used these two words and all of the things that go with them to give us more faith and more strength and more courage than we had before.

And now we continue to figure out how to move forward, living out Davey’s legacy of love.

Because he would have wanted it that way.

#8144loveyou

A roller coaster ride.

Up one day –

down the next.

Feeling good one hour –

ready to go sit in a dark closet the next.

A smile on my face one minute –

and tears running down it the next.

So many memorials – all bittersweet.

It’s awesome to remember and honor Davey together with our Blue family.

But it also points a finger at the huge, gaping hole in our lives…

the hole we are trying to figure out how to live with.  The hole that will never be filled this side of heaven.

I don’t need any help remembering that hole.

And the roller coaster ride continues.

Such fun!  My grandson and Kristen got to fly up to the Grand Canyon in a helicopter with David Johnson to announce a Cardinals draft pick!

But – there was a tall person with a huge smile wearing his favorite Cardinals jersey missing in all of the pictures.

The Police Motorcycles were very impressive at the State Memorial – all lined up with their flashing lights and then roaring through the crowd at the beginning of the ceremony.

But – there was a voice missing in the crowd.  Davey would have had several clever remarks about the ‘Las Vegas family’ showing up which would have had all of us chuckling – all the while making sure we knew how proud he was of his brothers and sisters in Blue.

A large number of our extended family ran in the ‘Glasser Group’ at Pat’s Run.  Such a great cause!  Many of them also ran with my grandson in the kid’s run.

Because someone very important was missing.  Davey ran next to his son last year.

I was ‘strolling’ my granddaughter through the huge crowd at Pat’s Run, trying to find the ‘Glasser Group’.  I realized I was looking over the crowd because I could always find Davey – his head popped up out of every crowd.

But I couldn’t find him….

My grandson was called up on the mound at his baseball game to pitch.  That was an exciting moment – especially when his team has kids that are 2 years older on it.

And then my heart remembered another boy who loved to play baseball and he loved to pitch.  He really liked being in the middle of every play and he didn’t mind the pressure.  Davey chose basketball over baseball as he got older even though he was a very good baseball player.

We are getting ready to jump on a plane heading to Washington, DC. for Police Week.  Our immediate family has taken lots of trips together – all over the United States as well as London, Spain and Italy.  Davey loved to travel.  When he was 12 years-old, we were going to Hawaii for 2 weeks and he was jumping around the house the day before, asking if we could leave now.  I told him he was going to have to wait.  He said, “What if I just can’t wait?”  I smiled so he knew the answer and started jumping around some more.

Those of you who loved the Cardinals with Davey saw a glimpse of this 12 year-old boy on ‘Man Christmas’ – opening day of the NFL – and whenever you tailgated with him and sat by him at the games.

My grandson now carries on this legacy of jumping and dancing in a frenzy of anticipation when exciting things are going to happen.

That makes me happy…..and sad.

The roller coaster ride.

I know many of you are riding the ups and downs right beside us.  Thank you.  Love you!

We better strap in – it’s going to be a long ride.

#8144loveyou

#fallenbutnotforgotten