He knew it was important to say it.

And he knew how it important it was to show it.

My son, David Glasser, was a Phoenix Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty last year.  And he knew how important the words ‘Love you’ are.

He said these words every time to his squad before he walked out to take a call.  And he badgered his squad into saying “Love you’ to each other, too.  Davey also said them all the time to everyone in his life who he cared about.  He knew how unsure life is and how quickly things change. He knew that these words can easily become the last thing you get to say to each other.  And he knew that these last words can either haunt you or bring a smile to your face.  He decided to make sure that his last words always brought a smile.

He knew that ‘Love you’ is not just two small words – strong emotions are attached which bring hope and warmth and worth when we are separated from each other.  Sometimes that separation is a couple of hours and sometimes – like may family – we are separated for the rest of our lives here on earth.

“Love you’ brings strength and comfort when we need it most.

God tells us that “Love builds up’ in 1 Corinthians and I have been a witness to how true that is these last 1 1/2 years.

Because Davey’s ‘Love you’s’ still echo in our heads, his family and friends have adopted them as our own habit.  It has become our mantra.  We don’t see each other or leave each other without hugs and ‘Love you’s”.  And this love has built us up.

It has built me up.  “Love you” rolls through my head during the dark nights when the hole in my life seems too much to bear.  It helps me smile at my two little fatherless grandchildren who look and act so much like Davey.

Love has made the impossible task of moving forward possible these last 1 1/2 years.

I have found that it is hard to be angry when everyone around me is saying they love me.

It is hard to be bitter when hugs and ‘Love you’s’ are coming from all directions.

And it is hard to feel like I’m all alone in this when I am surrounded by love.

Love builds up.

We had a great opportunity this week to spread love from our Blue family into our community through the David Glasser Foundation’s Shop with a Cop event.

Lots of fun.

Lots of smiles.

Lots of love.

Thank you for your legacy of love, Davey.

#8144loveyou

#fallenbutnotforgotten