Like most of you, I have been unable to clear my head. Between the photos of those sweet, precious little faces on Facebook and the constant coverage of the Sandy Hook tragedy on the internet and TV, there has been no escaping it.
My heart hurts.
My mind is reeling.
For a few minutes, an hour maybe, it'll slip my mind. But then something will remind me of what happened and the anger comes back. The fear. The sympathy for the ones left behind.
I think of the parents who will have to stare at presents left unopened under the Christmas tree. I think of the husband of the principal - a hero, who put her life on the line for her kids - and the pride that he must feel through the pain. The family of the teachers who were so incredibly brave that day.
I have seen a lot of anger directed towards those who believe this issue is about gun control. People frustrated by the state of mental health care in the United States. People are blaming the lack of religion in schools.
People are angry and other people are pointing fingers because how dare they make this a political issue or a health issue or a security issue or a religious issue?
How dare they lack sympathy?
How dare they make this a political agenda?
Because we all want something to blame so that we can start to somehow put together the pieces in our head as to how and why this happened. So we can understand and fix.
I say, let people cope with this indescribable, awful event the way that they will. Some people respond with anger. Some are called to action. Some cry and kiss their kids. It's okay.
It's okay to grieve in whatever way you grieve. Let's all stop pointing fingers at each other. Let's take a few days to figure out where we go from here. And then, let's get angry. Let's get frustrated.
Let's make changes so we - as parents, as citizens, as human beings - can try to prevent these God-awful things from occurring.
In the meantime, I'm going to start with hugging my kids a little tighter. To honor the victims by making each day special for my boys. By showing kindness to friends and strangers alike.
That is where change starts.
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I love this. Everyone does grieve in their own way. Hate and anger at one another will further divide us, and that's no way to honor the memories of those who were lost.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I just hate all of the finger pointing! We all have our own opinions as to why it happened or at least what could contribute to it and they are all different. Instead of letting those opinions come between us, we should hold on to the common factor - preventing this from happening again and honoring those who are gone.
DeleteI have never in my life cried over a news story until this one. All of my productivity for the day stopped and I just sat at my desk watching the news feeds all day long, not even trying to hide the fact that I wasn't working. Finally that afternoon I had just had enough and hid in my bathroom at work and cried and cried. I fight back tears every time I hear someone talk about it. Those were BABIES that were victims that day. Those were children at their most curious and innocent and they were taken in a brutal and heartless manner. It breaks my heart to think of those babies scared, hurting, dying and seeing a face of hate in front of them rather than a parent to love them into the light. I just can't. It hurts my head to try to figure out the uncomprehendable and it hurts my heart to even try to imagine the hurt that has rippled through that community. And I know that the pain I imagine isn't even a fraction of the pain that they feel. I've had to step away a little bit from it. Not for lack of caring, because I certainly do, but it was just hurting too much. I needed to focus more on MY babies and giving them love.
ReplyDeleteIt was just unimaginable to me! Today morning I also heard the news of at least 10 small girls killed by a bomb in Afghanistan. There is so much violence in this world!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Dropping my 1st grader off at school today was one of the hardest things I've had to do.. harder than the 1st day of Kindergarten almost! I wanted so badly to keep him home, to make sure he was safe, and all day I was checking my phone to make sure I didn't get any phone calls no parent ever wants to get. I know nothing in this life is guaranteed and each day is a gift and this has certainly helped me hold my babies a little tighter. So so sad... and I hope some change does come from this horrible tragedy.
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ReplyDeleteAll people do in their own way suspenseful. Hate and anger between us divided, and not a way to commemorate the memories of the people who have lost.
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