We dress for bed anticipating that at some point during the night, we're going out on a call.

If we're lucky, our spouses/significant others/children/families understand this and learn to accept/cope.

We don't always tell them about the bad calls - some of these are such that if you're not in the business, there's NO WAY you can understand.

They don't understand when we clear a bad call why, when it's 3:00 am, we still hang around the station until we feel comfortable enough to go home.

They put up with mood swings, the fact that getting the engine polished for the parade is more important than helping to slice cucumbers for the 4th of July barbecue, the Sunday morning live burns, the calls on Christmas morning, etc. And if we're lucky, they accept this as a part of us.

We forget that, just as we never know what's going to happen on a call, neither do those who love us. And we still expect them to cope, accept, understand.

And when things get REAL bad, we have somewhere to turn now. It's becoming more and more acceptable to use this format to help us cope. It's got nothing to do with macho males and the "I can handle anything" attitude. It's about coping, being better able to respond to those who need/love/admire us. And it's a vitally important part of our lives. Check out:

There's no shame in admitting we're hurting and need help.

�

�