If you follow me on Instagram (and if you don’t, whatcha waitin’ for) then you already know what I spent my day doing yesterday…
THE STORY
…I learned a plethora of new skills including: how to pack a bullet wound, how to cover a sucking chest wound, and how to disarm an individual with an assault rifle, a handgun and a knife.
For those of you who may not know what my day job is, no, I’m not in law enforcement, the military nor the medical field. I’m a middle school special education teacher.
My colleagues and I have been through numerous active shooter trainings and drills, but yesterday we learned how to save lives and defend ourselves if necessary. We knew it was time to move to a new training station when the head trainer would fire off two real gunshots (blanks obviously) somewhere in the building so that we would learn to recognize and get used to the sound of actual weapons fire. What in the literal hell has become of this world when not only did I as a public school teacher receive this training, but I’m thankful for it?
I suppose I never really thought about it, but many of the people who have died in mass shootings over the last several years died because help did not reach them in time and they simply bled out. It can take a substantial chunk of time for law enforcement to clear an active shooter area and deem it safe for emergency personnel to enter to treat victims. If you look at it from that perspective, how many lives could have potentially been saved if those already there knew how to administer basic first aid to the gunshot victims?
If you had told me way back when I started my teaching career that I’d one day be trained to stick my fingers into a bullet wound to clear it out before packing it to stop the bleeding or to effectively take a firearm from an assailant twice my size I would’ve told you that you’d lost your mind. But here we are. And as much as it simultaneously terrifies me and breaks my heart, I can not only rest easier knowing that I have those skills if God forbid I one day need to save my kids, but it also eases my mind knowing that my colleagues can do the same for my own child.
Just like everything else in life, there is no going back. I fear that there will never be another generation of kids who don’t know what school is like without the potential for a shooting. If that is the sad truth, then they should at least know that those of us who are tasked with not only educating them, but now keeping them alive, are well-trained and ready to do what needs to be done.
THE OUTFIT
For some odd reason, I find that I wear my white jeans more in the Winter. I suppose it’s probably because, as much as I love jeans in general, I don’t wear them much in the Summer because it’s just too hot. Although my boyfriend fit distressed pair works well in the Summer because they are more…ventilated. They do get a lot of love through the Spring though paired with florals and chambray.
In any case, I’ve never had a problem styling my white jeans to make them Winter appropriate. Just like my Spring/Summer skirts and dresses, I simply pair them with boots and a cozy sweater like I did today and they are perfect for colder temperatures. They are yet another item in my closet that doesn’t get packed away for seasonal storage.
Instead of going for my usual black or gray to ground a warm weather piece, I went for pinks and blues. The color palette may say warmer weather, but the coziness of the waffle knit sweater and faux suede over the knee boots keep it cold weather appropriate. The colors say Spring, but the textures keep it firmly in the realm of Winter.
THE TIP
Wear your white jeans all year if you’re feelin’ it. That old “rule” saying that we can’t wear white after Labor Day is absurd. As you can see, I didn’t burst into flames, nor did I get hauled off by the fashion police. Wear what you love…no matter what season it is.
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Coat: Vintage; Jeans: Chico’s (Similar); Boots: Charlotte Russe (Similar); Sweater: American Eagle (Similar); Blouse: JCPenney (Similar)
