SHE’S GOT THIS!
Sgt. Michelle Mayers is a single mother of two daughters, Alana (14 years old) and Lauren (12 years old) and has worked for the Bluffton Police Department since 2010. Radiating positive energy, she will disarm you with her smile, her outlook on life will capture your heart, and her badge of honor is motherhood.
“Motherhood is the best blessing that has ever happened to me in my life,” Mayers said.
When asked about her parenting motto, she responded: “You. Got. This.”
Mayers continued.
“No matter what, you got this,” she said. “It’s OK if you do not get everything right. Be gentle with yourself. It’s OK to have a bad day. There will be days you will not know how to push forward, but you just get grounded and figure out your next move.”
Mayers began her career in law enforcement by serving in the Air Force. She then “gravitated to the Bluffton Police Department” and loves her job because she “gets to serve the people she grew up with.”
And yet, her job does not come without stressors. Working in a male-dominated field, she admits to feeling compelled to work extra hard to prove women can excel just as well as men in performing the job requirements.
With the global pandemic, she admits to feeling isolated while her office was closed to the public.
“Interacting with the general public is what makes us thrive,” she said. “It’s what gets the wheels turning.”
And, with her job, she at times sees hardship and tragedy.
“When something bad happens at work, it makes me appreciate life more. After a tough day, I just want to come home and love on my girls,” Mayers said.
Mayers’ love for family pervades in all aspects of her life. Every weekday, she wakes up at 5:45 a.m. to make sure her daughters “have something hot for breakfast” and when she gets home from work, she says she takes off her police hat and puts on her mom hat to make dinner and help with homework.
Every Friday she and her daughters have a girls’ night.
“We order fast food and read Google reviews to find something on Netflix,” she said. “Friday we divert from whatever happened during the week. It’s our reset.”
Every Sunday, after going to church, she and her daughters head to the waterfront and “get YoYo’s and run around until we can’t run around anymore.”
And every Mother’s Day, her daughters give her a homemade coupon book.
“It has coupons for things like free hugs and dishwashing,” Mayers said.
They also go out to brunch with Mayers’ mother and two sisters.
When speaking about her mother, Mayers’ megawatt smile beams even brighter.
“My mom passed down to me attitude and honesty,” she said. “She taught me that your outlook on your day, your job, your situation is all about having a positive attitude. With a positive attitude you can get through anything.”
These words of wisdom have helped Mayers navigate through life, as well as through parenting her daughters. She also credits her support network with helping her balance serving on the frontline and parenting.
“I appreciate my support system,” Sgt. Mayers said. “My mother. My sisters. My ex-mother-in-law. My ex-husband. I hope I have instilled in my daughters that there’s a balance. Do not be too prideful and not ask for help but also put in 100-percent effort in everything you do.
“The mind is a powerful thing. Never doubt yourself.”
PHOTOS BY RUTHE RITTERBECK
