I have put off writing in my blog in part because I've been super busy, but also, I keep thinking I should address my feelings about the school shooting in CT, if at least for my own sake. But honestly, my thoughts are so confused and torn, chances are anything I write will be jumping from here to there. Obviously, it was a devastating tragedy. The night it happened, I sat in L's room after he fell asleep and cried for all those parents who weren't tucking their little kids in bed that night.
I have no doubt that losing a child to such pointless violence is so difficult, but my heart goes out to the parents of the children that survived as well. I just can't imagine facing my child and trying to explain this. How do you even begin? Seeing their friends gunned down and on the floor, dead, and bloody...even an adult can't fully comprehend it, let alone elementary school children. On the whole, children are, thankfully, fairly resilient, but this will be huge mountain to climb for the kids and their parents. Sadly, I admit that anymore I have become mostly numb to school shootings (or mall, movie theater, etc). Our teens have been exposed to it for years now and I don't want to say they expect it, because no one thinks it will happen to them, but it's not as shocking as it used to be. The shooting at Sandy Hook, however, was an attack on little kids. Little kids that we, as parents, have sheltered from just this thing. I mean, these poor kids (and all young children around the world) probably never even knew what a school shooting was. We are being forced to explain these tragedies to children younger and younger. In a way, our nation's youth just suffered more of a loss of their youth, as if our kids aren't growing too fast as it is. This is an example of how this school shooting effects all of the nation, not just the grieving parents and community of Newtown, CT. On a positive note, (because at times like this, you have to find something positive to hang on to) people are coming together showing compassion and bravery. When faced with this kind of thing, you are reminded how fragile life is. You should live each day like your last and embrace your loved ones at every chance.
