A time to pause: Remembering our fallen officers and their Families

The first to respond, the peacekeeper, the member, the officer — someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband. Remembering them gives us an opportunity to pause. To stop. To reflect on the life lost. To give thanks. To appreciate their willingness to stand on guard.

Pause — we pause and wonder: Is there something we are missing; is there a way to prioritize what is most important? What is most important? I am glad you are reading this, as memorializing our fallen officers creates room for us to pause and reflect. To appreciate the preciousness of life and goodness. While the sun rose and will rise again tomorrow, today is a day just like many others. But marking this day provides space for us to remember those who carried a heavy burden and lost their lives. For their Families. Their children.

Have we so easily forgotten to put another’s needs before our own? Can we smile and hug our husband, can we be joyful and invested in our children regardless of what has happened throughout the day? Of course we can. We must realize this is a choice — a choice we must make every day, many times throughout the day. I don’t say this as someone who has mastered this. Sadly I fail at this often… too often. But we need the reminder — I need the reminder. Today is a day to pause, appreciate and remember. We really can choose to flip the switch, to stop ourselves in our tracks, to pause intentionally. To remember what is important. Life and goodness. The unique character of those who serve, the special kind of people it takes to be a part of their lives.

We are only given a certain amount of time. None of us know how many years we have left on the earth. But let’s take a few moments to contemplate them. Today is also a reminder that our time is limited. We must be so wise with how we use the time that we have. We are in an age where distractions are rampant. We can’t go five minutes without looking at our phones, we can scroll photo after photo of people and places and long to be them or long to be there. All that we truly have is right now. We can’t go back and change the past. In honour of those we lost, we can make changes right now to make better use of the time we do have with the resources we are given and the people who surround us daily. That means being present where we are. Putting our phones down and looking into the faces of those we are with. Breaking down the barriers we have set for ourselves and investing in the relationships with those around us. Our time is precious. Our life is precious. Let us remember that our time is a gift from God. Let us never forget that these police officers have impacted impact future generations with love, wisdom and grace. Their legacy will not be forgotten. Pause.

— Toni Harrington

Toni is the daughter and granddaughter of CAF Veterans and has been (mostly happily) married for almost 30 years to a 25-year Veteran of the RCMP (now retired). In addition to providing lived experience support to Atlas, Toni has spent over 30 years in health care and is currently employed with Homewood Health.