More than 3 years ago, I started a thread on here about my son, and how proud I was of him as he began his federal law enforcement career...

I am one proud dad!

As I type these words, he is on his way to Hawaii, where he will spend his second consecutive Christmas away from his loved ones. Now, Hawaii is a beautiful place (so I'm told) and some folks I know have expressed a bit of envy over my son being there...but they forget he isn't on vacation. He is working, he has a very important mission, and he will have precious little time to enjoy whatever there is to see over there.

He got back from Johannesburg a week ago Wednesday, after flying there on short notice. On Thursday, we were able to get together for dinner, and we were sitting in a pub in my town, when our waitress noticed the strange-looking currency I was holding...

"I hope you're not going to tip me with that!" she said. I laughed and said "Isn't it beautiful?"

Waitress: "South African money? Where did you get that?"

Me: "From him...he brought them back last night."... while gesturing toward my son.

Waitress: "You were in South Africa? Were you on vacation?"

Son: "No, I was working."

Waitress: "What do you do?"

Son: "I work for the Government."

Waitress: Oh...is it like 'secret' or something?

Son: "Something like that..."

This career choice has been very tough on him. His fiancé broke up with him during the summer of 2012; he must always have his Blackberry on; his schedule is subject to change at a moment's notice; and he cannot talk specifically about what he does or how he does it...

But right now, at this point in his career, he is a part of history, and I am still one proud father...

Sir, you have every right to be proud. And I thank your son for his service & sacrifice.

My youngest followed me into LE & we became the 1st family to have 3 generations working at our department (my dad/his granddad was also an officer here). In the almost 6 years he's been on, 1 of us has always had to leave our family holiday celebration to go to work. This year, we both are scheduled. Funny, but over the 30 years I've worked my wife never complained of the many special occasions I've had to miss. But the 1st one her "baby" had to leave PO'd her to no end.

While in the application process, they talked to him about the scheduling & toll it can take on a family. He told the story of how mad he was one Christmas Eve, having to wait for me to finally get off work to open presents. I was working a homicide where a guy beat the mother of his child to death with a baseball bat & I didn't make it home till quite late.

Just as I enjoyed watching him mature into a grown man; I've also gotten to watch him develop into a fine officer.

You have every reason to be proud of your son and his being entrusted with an important job.

I'm sure that at some point he will be able to relate some very interesting stories after he leaves this particular service.

Give him our best wishes and thanks for doing a job that most people know little about but that is critical for our republic.

Congratulations to you...I know how proud you are of your son following you into the 'family business', and being able to work with him has to be very satisfying. A good friend of mine -- a retired police officer himself -- has a favorite saying: Good kids don't happen by accident. Our children really do reflect on us and how we raised them.

My family members -- on my mother's side -- have been firefighters since the 1890s, but I am the last one; neither of my sons wanted a fire service career. It's just as well: My career took a real toll on me physically, and I wasn't that disappointed in my sons' decisions to pursue other paths.

As you have, I too worked shift work, and missed a lot of holidays, birthdays, etc. It goes with the territory, just another thing that makes a public safety career so much different than a 'regular' job.

May God bless your son and keep him (and you) safe...Merry Christmas!

I'm not in law enforcement, but my son did follow me in my profession. Whatever you do for a living, that is a sign of respect and gratitude for the life you gave your offspring. Life is good...

__________________
I used to be disgusted..

Short reply, People like your son keeps us safe and free. I thank your son for me.

That is a noble profession regardless of political views. You should be very proud of his duty to country. He has my admiration and gratitude.

__________________
paws for friendship

That must be pretty cool to have your son doing that type of work. My son is a senior in high school and plans to get a degree in criminal justice. I'm not sure where that will take him.

We've been watching the series "Chuck" on Netflix. If you haven't watched it, it's part spy/action and part humor. On that show, Chuck's career often pulls him away from friends and family. It's a neat show if you haven't seen it.

You're right to feel proud of your son.

Political views never influence what my son and his colleagues do.

People who know us, and know what he does, ask me: "Did he vote for him?"

I tell them: "No, he didn't vote for him...but he would take a bullet for him." And that's the truth...

Your son is no doubt the best of the best. Like many others I don't much like his travelling companion, but that don't matter. Tell him thank you, he has one of the toughest jobs in the world, but I for one am thankful for and proud of the work he and his compadres do.

Oh, does he know sign language?

__________________
Even older, even crankier....