Our Turn

After a week of wondering when the first call would be, Steve's radio went off.

Goshen firefighters were to respond to a box alarm, in town. Off he went, not knowing what to expect. He's still not home, 3.5 hours later, and I am looking forward to hearing all about his experience.

I'm now the wife of a firefighter!

It was sometime last Fall- I was reading the paper, and in particular, the umpteenth article about how volunteer firefighters were needed. Numbers have dwindled, and like every other committee or group in small towns, it's been hard to find enough people that will help and commit their time. It was then that I read a quote that I don't believe I will ever forget from a local fire chief:

"It used to be that people moved into a community and said, 'What can do I do for the town?' Now it seems that people move into a community and say, 'What can the town do for me?'"

Unfortunately, I can't tell you which individual said this, or what issue of the Gazette it was.

What I can tell you is that quote resonated with me. Steve had mentioned joining the fire department, but my first thought was that it seemed a little crazy with how busy our lives already were.

This quote made me remember: everyone's lives are busy. It's not an excuse to not give back to the town you live in. Paper in hand, I entered the room Steve was in and told him he really should do the fire department if it interested him. He had my full support.

I know how many times he encouraged me to do things- school committee, the COA position, Historical Society, Assistant Town Clerk: all dealing with the town. Having your spouse's unwavering support means the world. It was great to be able to hand that support to him, for a change, in a new venture he wanted to pursue.

So here we are. We don't really have an idea of how much this will change our lives yet, but we're willing to give it a go. Many people in both of our families have served their towns. It's our turn now.