Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Tragedy

This is the last time I’m going to blog before Christmas, and I planned to write a post on Christmas music and how it perfectly captures that essence of Christmas.  But in light of the tragic events on Friday, I don’t really feel the Christmas spirit right now.

I had a hard time dropping my second grader off to school these last two mornings.  I bet a lot of parents did.  That place that has always felt so safe has lost that innocence.  In all of these tragic shootings that have happened over the years, I naively believed that no one would be evil enough to specifically seek out and target young children.  And now that hope that these monsters would have some semblance of humanity is gone.

 Pure evil exists.  There is no doubt about that.

But pure love exists too, and in reading about what transpired, I am in awe of the courage and strength of the teachers and workers at the school.  Who shielded children from the gunman, risked their lives to pull children to safety, and made sure every door was locked, who had the presence of mind to tell the students how much they loved them fearing that might be the last words they ever heard.  My heart goes out to the brave the first responders who rushed to the scene and the emergency room workers who prepared for victims that never came. 

So many people in that community proved that they would do anything to protect and save and shield those sweet innocent children from the horror, and I wish that love was enough to save them all, but I know those courageous adults did everything they could.

They were heroes, every one of them. 

And to the families that lost loved ones, I know my grief isn’t as deep as yours because I cannot fathom how deep your pain must be, but I want you to know that I am grieving with you.  I think the whole nation is.  And in a way, your children are our children, and your loss is our loss.

 My thoughts and prayers and love go out to all of you that has suffered from this heinous crime.  May you find peace.

~MaryAnn

6 comments:

  1. I'm crying again and can't think of a single thing I can say, except thank you for this post, MaryAnn.

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  2. God bless all those affected by this.
    Thank you MaryAnn. I think you spoke what is in all our hearts.

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  3. I agree with everything you said. I agree that the worst and best of human beings was present on Friday. It comforts me that the teachers/staff put those children first that day and didn't abandoned them. They put them in closet, reassured them, told them to close their eyes, tried to disarm the monster when I am sure the principal knew that she most likely would die, and craddled a disabled child as they both died and died with them while trying to shield them from the bullets. They were loved and they helps me send my child to school.

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  4. I don't want it to be real. It's gotten to the point that I don't like checking facebook, or clicking on links, but I still do. I click on articles and blog posts like this one hoping that some words somewhere will make this not have happened, that will make sense of the senseless, will bring comfort and relief.

    There are no answers to this though, there are no magic words that take it away, or make it not real.

    The relief that I've found, is that things like this don't happen in Narnia, or Wonderland, or Oz. I can read a book, and for a short while, live in a world that is safe, where the dragons can be defeated. I can live in a world that makes sense.

    Thank you MaryAnn, for searching for the words that can only be found in a book.

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  5. This was a beautiful post. I'm right there with you. This week has been tough, taking my son to school. There is no way for me to express how horrible I feel for all those families hurt by this senseless violence, but I thought your post did a great job conveying how we all feel right now.

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