Thoughts from Chief Sjolander... Hail to the Chief...Mrs. Chief. With it being Mothers Day, I wanted to take a moment and thank the person who has been raising me for close to twenty years...my wife. When I met Rebecca, she was a single parent who was going to college and working. I loved watching her interact with her son and after we started dating, how she interacted with my son. Id been working as a police officer for just a little while and she would drive over an hour just to see me...ah...young love. I was offered a full time job here in Kenyon, so I had to move here. Rebecca said Id follow you anywhere, and live in a dumpster if need be...ah...young love. I borrowed $6,000.00 from my friend Jeff, found a trailer that needed a lot of work and I moved here. It was like a dumpster...with windows. Rebecca came for visits and helped me clean up what would end up to be our first home here. We ended up living here and raised our family on my $10.00 per hour job. She quit her job and focused on finishing her college degree. Times were tough, but we made it. She could make a meal to feed all of us for little or no money and a date consisted of taking our kids for a walk. We drove a car that I paid $350.00 for and she never complained. I asked her to marry me and she was foolish enough to say yes. If Id ask her today, she probably run the other way and Id not blame her. She has been by my side the whole way...Leaving our small town agency, working for a larger agency where I worked my way up to investigator, then coming back to start the Kenyon Police Department again. She has cooked meals for hungry strangers, helped with bike rodeos, picked me up when Ive needed it, dropped what shes doing to assist me or any of our officers...you name it, shes done it. Shes hugged me in the middle of the night after a bad call and will text Are you ok? when she hears sirens. She has sewn buttons on uniforms, helped polish leather, answered the phone at all hours, and puts up with my Type A personality. She keeps me grounded, kicks me in the rear when I need it, and does all this while being a wonderful mother to our children and a wonderful teacher to her students. Anyone who would marry a public servant knows the risks and dangers of this calling, but they marry us anyways. Its up to us to be the best partner we can be to them and remind them that we are who we are because of their love and support. So here it is...Rebecca, I love you and know that you have helped me more than youll ever know. Our kids are amazing because of you and I hope they all know it. Thanks for being my right hand. Love, Me
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 01:24:32 +0000