Note: I originally hand wrote this post yesterday, December 14, 2012, while everything was fresh. I held it and let it sit with me. There are a few edits just to keep it up to date but it’s how I felt as the news was coming in. I debated starting over but, even if it’s a bit disjointed, it’s what I felt at that moment and it will have to be kept at its raw state.
I drove to work today missing two people. Most notably my mom. I miss her every day. I’ve dedicated space here to missing her. It’s the holiday season so I tend to miss her more because at the end of the this season almost 17 years ago she lost her fight with cancer and my constant missing her began.
Not long after getting to work I read online that one person chose to enter an elementary school in Connecticut and took the lives of 27 people then himself. It was yet another act of mass murder (I want to write “senseless murder” but I’ve yet to find an act of murder that actually makes sense).
Now so many parents and families will be forced to deal with the loss of someone who brought light to their lives. Everyone of those people who died today mattered to someone. Everyone of those people–adults and children–will be missed by at least one other person. The loss of these people, just liked the loss of any life, has a ripple effect that reaches out wide and far as they are all part of the human race and therefore connected.
I try very hard to not get political with my posts. You’ll notice I stayed quiet throughout this year’s election because my political views are mine and yours are yours. Saying that, I have my own deeply held convictions when it comes to gun control and other social issues. I don’t desire to debate those issues here but I will share this thought…We’ve lost far too many lives to violence committed by someone using firearms. I should not be forced to carry a gun to protect myself against someone with an ax to grind against society and nor should my 16-year-old daughter. I don’t pretend to have the answer but something has to be done. The “conversation” should have started long ago and continued until we no longer had to fear men dressed in black carrying guns into public places and taking lives.
Today, parents should not havelost their babies and kids should not have lost their parents. Families should not have been irreparably damaged on this day. Children and teachers who lived through the violence should not have to live with the nightmare they witnessed for years to come. The list of people mourning the loss of loved ones should not have been increased so drastically today.
I am angry and sad today. Many people are. My sympathies go out to everyone affected by this tragedy. My love goes out to them and the friends, family and strangers that are reading this now. Remember to hug the ones you love today. Let them know they are on your mind and that you love them. Don’t take their presence on this earth for granted. Love them now.
On My Mind 