Let The Children Come
Along with many others, I sat and watched in horror as I learned about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. As I thought about those precious children, who are close to the same age as my daughter, and the teachers who put the children before themselves, the tears flowed. How in the world could this happen?
Events like this hit a little harder when you have a child of your own. I'm not sure if my reaction is normal or not. I feel like I'm taking it really hard. I can't watch TV without crying. I can't talk about it without crying. I can't read articles without crying. I'm assuming that it's because I know what it's like to lose a child. My loss was different. It's more a loss of the hopes and dreams that I had for Violet. And while that is devastating and I'm not really sure how we survived such a tragic loss, I look at those families and wonder how they are going to survive this tragic loss. How do you pick up the pieces? How do you go on with life when such a big part of your life was taken away too soon and in such a tragic way?
When Violet died, it made me think about what it would be like to lose Georgia. The tragedy at Sandy Hook again brought those thoughts to mind. I'm not sure what I would do if something happened to her. Would I be able to pick up the pieces and go on? I've been through this before, and one of the big reasons I was able to go on was because of Georgia. She kept me from falling into deep depression after Violet's death. She was my reason to get out of bed.
As I saw the photos of those little children, I saw my child. I saw her classmates and her teacher. As I heard the stories of teachers shielding children from bullets, I thought of my friends and family who themselves are teachers and who I know would do the same thing for their students. It makes me so frightened for them all.
As soon as I heard the news on Friday, I wanted to be with my girl. I could not wait to pick up Georgia from school. When I arrived the pick up line was much longer than normal. The place was packed. I'm not sure if it was just on coincidence or because of the events at Sandy Hook, but I saw so many other parents, like myself, so glad that their kids were coming home from school. And I thought of the 20 parents who wouldn't be welcoming their child home that afternoon. I thought of the parents who said goodbye to their child for the last time Friday morning. And I also thought of the parents who were so relieved to see their child come out of Sandy Hook alive. Those children will never ever be the same child that left for school that morning. And as I thought of all of those things, I hugged my girl a little tighter. I told her how glad I was to see her. I told her that I loved her.
Last night I watched as President Obama gave his speech to those in Newtown. He quoted the Bible, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." These words have brought a wave of emotions that I never thought possible before Violet's death. We sing those words before children's time at church. I never stopped to think about them before Violet. And the first time I heard them after Violet's death, I couldn't bear to sing them. They now held new meaning. I still hold back tears whenever I hear these words. And now these words hold new meaning for every single parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt,uncle and friend of the Sandy Hook students.
To all the victims of the Sandy Hook shootings....know that your spirit has not been forgotten. We are praying for your families in their overwhelming grief. We are praying for peace. We are praying that this never happens to other teachers and students. We are praying for those who need help. We are praying.
Events like this hit a little harder when you have a child of your own. I'm not sure if my reaction is normal or not. I feel like I'm taking it really hard. I can't watch TV without crying. I can't talk about it without crying. I can't read articles without crying. I'm assuming that it's because I know what it's like to lose a child. My loss was different. It's more a loss of the hopes and dreams that I had for Violet. And while that is devastating and I'm not really sure how we survived such a tragic loss, I look at those families and wonder how they are going to survive this tragic loss. How do you pick up the pieces? How do you go on with life when such a big part of your life was taken away too soon and in such a tragic way?
When Violet died, it made me think about what it would be like to lose Georgia. The tragedy at Sandy Hook again brought those thoughts to mind. I'm not sure what I would do if something happened to her. Would I be able to pick up the pieces and go on? I've been through this before, and one of the big reasons I was able to go on was because of Georgia. She kept me from falling into deep depression after Violet's death. She was my reason to get out of bed.
As I saw the photos of those little children, I saw my child. I saw her classmates and her teacher. As I heard the stories of teachers shielding children from bullets, I thought of my friends and family who themselves are teachers and who I know would do the same thing for their students. It makes me so frightened for them all.
As soon as I heard the news on Friday, I wanted to be with my girl. I could not wait to pick up Georgia from school. When I arrived the pick up line was much longer than normal. The place was packed. I'm not sure if it was just on coincidence or because of the events at Sandy Hook, but I saw so many other parents, like myself, so glad that their kids were coming home from school. And I thought of the 20 parents who wouldn't be welcoming their child home that afternoon. I thought of the parents who said goodbye to their child for the last time Friday morning. And I also thought of the parents who were so relieved to see their child come out of Sandy Hook alive. Those children will never ever be the same child that left for school that morning. And as I thought of all of those things, I hugged my girl a little tighter. I told her how glad I was to see her. I told her that I loved her.
Last night I watched as President Obama gave his speech to those in Newtown. He quoted the Bible, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." These words have brought a wave of emotions that I never thought possible before Violet's death. We sing those words before children's time at church. I never stopped to think about them before Violet. And the first time I heard them after Violet's death, I couldn't bear to sing them. They now held new meaning. I still hold back tears whenever I hear these words. And now these words hold new meaning for every single parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt,uncle and friend of the Sandy Hook students.
To all the victims of the Sandy Hook shootings....know that your spirit has not been forgotten. We are praying for your families in their overwhelming grief. We are praying for peace. We are praying that this never happens to other teachers and students. We are praying for those who need help. We are praying.
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