My amazing parents. My heart.
I was out and about today with PJ in my hometown running errands and such. We stopped to break for lunch at a local restaurant, and we chose to sit at the bar. At almost any bar you will find a tv, so we ate our lunch as we watched the Connecticut shooting story unfold . PJ and I discussed the events with our bartender/waiter who was about to be a new father. However, as I looked around the restaurant and proceeded to drop in on the other conversations happening around us, it actually upset me deeply that most people were discussing anything but the unavoidable happenings of the day. It's not that I expected everyone to be completely morose, but the unfortunate reality is that people are not willing to entertain the idea that something so devastating could ever happen to them. I am guilty of embracing this comforting avoidance as well. Guess what, this attitude results in denial and inaction. I experienced the same atmosphere as I did at lunch when I accompanied my parents to an Irish pub for dinner. Although my parents, PJ, and I were laughing and talking just like the majority of the other patrons in the restaurant, I continued to experience a feeling in my stomach that brought me back to the events of the day. It felt wrong to go on as if all was as it should be.
My parents are both teachers. My dad teaches music at Berklee in Boston, MA. My mother is a kindergarten teacher by trade, and she now tutors. When I arrived home this afternoon, one of her students( who is the cutest little muffin on the planet! ) was at our house. She was constructing a holiday project with my mother, and to see this innocent and thankfully unaffected young girl with my mother made my heart warm and also break at the same time.
I wanted to grab onto this girl and give her a big hug. I would have totally freaked her out and therefore, I refrained from the creepy embrace. The point I'm getting at is that every person, especially our children, deserve the opportunity to grow into the person they are destined to be. When someone takes that right away, I'm just not okay with it. What happened today has been happening far to frequently in recent years, and frankly it scares the dickens out of me. With that said:
Hug your kids.
Tell the people you love that you love them.
Love yourself.
Appreciate EVERY SINGLE MOMENT you have on this planet.
I had the pleasure of crossing paths with a very brilliant woman, singer, and songwriter at a different point in my life who eloquently and flawlessly put words to my feelings regarding the events of today. My belief is that when someone can articulate something perfectly, quote them and let them say it:
"We put a man on the moon, scaled Everest, survived natural disasters, developed medicine to cure disease and extend life, built cities and planes and bridges, invented technology which allows us to communicate with anyone around the world, wrote novels and composed symphonies and produced films...and yet we still have not figured out how to prevent unnecessary deaths inflicted by the rage of a mind unhinged. Even after hundreds of thousands of years on this earth, one human being still has the power to end another's life with the mere flick of a finger; one individual has the freedom to play God with our own destructive machine. How many more unspeakable tragedies need to occur before we finally wake up and start making proactive changes?
Regulate guns.
Provide more effective mental health care.
Love each other, love each other, love each other."
-Nicole Berke
My heart, prayers, and thoughts go out to all those affected by today's tragedy.
May angels lead you in.
XO,
Sarah
Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Spending some
ReplyDeletetime and actual effort to make a top notch article… but what can I say… I hesitate a lot and don't manage to get anything done.