When you grow up with a police detective for a father, safety is ingrained in you and you notice things others might miss. 

 

I’ll never forget walking around the neighborhood one day when I was about 10 and my dad asking me if it was possible that someone had broken into a vacationing neighbor’s home the previous night through their front window. 

 

Anything’s possible, I’d answered, skirting behind him a little as if believing it would manifest an armed intruder as he led me closer. 

 

“No, see this spider web here,” he pointed out as he proceeded to explain the position of the web and the time it would’ve taken the spider to weave such a design. “If they got in, it was not through this window.”

 

No one had broken in- it was simply a lesson- and one I’ve never forgotten. I‘ve heeded the message ever since: Pay attention to every detail. 

 

It has served me well in life, even to my own detriment at times when my overthinking brain and overactive imagination team up. But I have always had situational awareness. 

 

I was 12 when Dad brought me to the Police Academy for a self-defense class. We learned basic defense moves, situational awareness tips, and how to walk to your car holding your keys in such a way that the key could become a weapon in an emergency. Over forty years later I still walk to my car holding my keys the same way. 

 

A great way to observe this important day is by discussing it with those around you, especially younger generations. While you do, you’ll be improving the safety of those you love. Be human again. Pay attention to the people and events happening around you more than you pay attention to modern-day devices like cellphones and earbuds. 

 

Situational awareness is being alert to suspicious activity around you as well as noticing your surroundings. A person following too close, a car not yielding to a red light, an unsupervised child tottering near a pool edge. 

 

Being aware of your surroundings can make the split-second difference between safety and a tragedy.