Family Friday - Dad

First, I want to thank Josh for sharing this platform with me. I don’t typically shy away from talking to large groups but realizing 14,000 + people have visited this page makes me hope I can meet the standards Josh has set.

This is Josh’s dad, Matt and I want to take this opportunity to talk about what changed for me on February 11, 2017. It was 6:04 pm, Maria and I had just gotten our food at one of our favorite restaurants (T-Bones). We were with some friends (they’re really more like family) when my phone rang. I saw it was Zach and I was just about to “bitch button” him and send a text saying we were eating and I’d call back. I thought about that for a second and realized I had not spoken to him for a while because he was just back from Afghanistan. So I decided I would answer it so I could hear his voice and then tell him I’d call him back.

I thank God for a lot of things in my life and answering that call is one of them. My world was rocked with just the words “Dad”. I’ve spent the last 18 ½ years as a Police Officer, listening to my brothers and sisters voices on the radio. Talking to victims and suspects of crimes and learning how to find what goes unsaid just by tone or inflection. I knew…. I knew just from that word that something bad had happened. Zach explained to me the best he could at the time, I remember thinking among a million other things that it was an awful burden for Zach to have to bear, the responsibility of sharing the news that his brother was shot with us. 

The rest of the night was a fear filled blur but I remember we were never alone. And that’s where my take on this begins. We were never in this alone. That night our Deacon from our church, our friends and my brothers and sisters in Blue were by our side. We arrived in Washington the next day and from that moment on someone from the Tacoma FBI was there at my family’s side. People from the Tacoma FBI RA, the Seattle Division of the FBI, NCIS (yes that’s a real organization and they’re way better then Mark Harmon), Seattle PD and law enforcement brothers and sisters from across the country were reaching out with their support. On the home front, the PD I work for was checking on our house and constantly offering their support in any way possible. The soldiers and leaders from Josh’s unit were incredible to our family. The family readiness group took us on like we were one of their own because to them, we are. My Marine family put together a group message chain and made sure someone was always checking on us…. They lived the motto to Never Leave A Brother Behind. My New Hampshire FBI family were my rock. I’ve had a fantastic and interesting career in law enforcement. A big part of that was the 7 years I spent assigned to the FBI in New Hampshire on a gang squad. I met some incredible people and 2 assholes there. We were a family and they made sure my family was taken care of in Washington and in New Hampshire. The support of our Hudson family was and still is overwhelming, incredible and constant.

I’ve learned a million things since that phone call from Zach, but my important lesson is this. I’m not special but my life is full of some pretty special people. 

Zach mentioned in his post that he “did some first aid”. Well, the trauma team leader credits that first aid with saving Josh’s life. I’m married to a woman who donated a kidney to save a life. Our youngest son is one of the hardest working and driven people I’ve ever met. Josh….well he’s one of the most stubborn and driven people I’ve met. He’s also one of the toughest, most compassionate and loving people I know. The women my sons have brought in to our family are all amazing. Can you imagine being the girlfriend or wife of someone going through their part in this? These women are incredible, resilient and loving additions to our family.

I can’t imagine what my life would have become if things had ended differently that night but by the grace of God, Zach’s quick action and the incredible work of medical personnel, I don’t have to live that nightmare.

I feel as if I’m rambling so I’ll end with this point. Our lives are short and they change in the blink of an eye. Live a good life, Bekind to others and tell people that you care about them. That’s actually harder to do than it sounds and I work on it every day, but the people (new and old) that have entered into our lives make it worth it….every day.