I know its very hard for parents who have not lost a child to understand parents who have. There is nothing that compares to loosing a child. I think losing a spouse is the closest thing and it’s still not like losing a child.

If you want to try to understand and help a parent who has lost a child, one thing you should know is that the statement “Something good will come out of this.” doesn’t help and I’ll tell you why.

My son, David Glasser, was a Phoenix Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty on May 19, 2016. Davey was one of the good guys who helped people all day and worked hard to take the bad guys off the street his whole career. He was on a trajectory to help the people of Phoenix every day for his first career and then he planned to teach high school and coach basketball. Can you even imagine how many people and how many kids he would have positively affected in his two careers?

That’s only part of the good that would have happened if he had not been killed. The personal gain for me would be all the smiles and fun and great times we would have had with Davey. All the love and help and encouragement he would have given us will never be. All the great memories of awesome times together. Multiply this loss by all his family and his at least a hundred friends.

That’s the good that should have happened. That’s the good that will never be. That’s the good that I grieve over.

Yes, there have been good things that have happened since Davey was killed. The David Glasser Foundation is still fulfilling Davey’s legacy by sponsoring youth sports team all over Phoenix and helping families from Laveen in need at Christmas with a Shop with a Cop. There is a David Glasser Sports facility in Laveen which has become a great hub of good things for that community. There are many other good things that have happened.

But none of it is as good as the things that would have happened had Davey lived. All those good things have been lost forever.

So I may smile when someone talks about the good that has come out of Davey’s death but inside I know there’s just no comparison.

You just don’t understand.

Miss you, Davey.

Love you.