Too close to home.....

Sandy Hook. I've been there. It's a sleepy little town, much like the one I live in. I have a friend who lives there with her four children, two boys and two girls, much like my own. We have a lot in common - we love coffee and wine, complaining about things; we're the same age, our kids are the same age, and we have husbands who love us in spite of the things we might say in a mood. I met her through blogging; we shared a hotel at a conference in NYC 2 summers ago, meeting for the first time in the lobby. She came to visit my family, we visited hers last summer. Laura had two children in that school on Friday. It still doesn't seem real.

Laura doesn't blog anymore, I like to think she doesn't need to; or that she's got a fabulous book that she's working on that takes up all her time. I don't blog much anymore either, so we've kind of fallen out of contact. I'm very glad to say, though, that she answered my text within minutes last week, assuring me that her children were safe and in her care. That is NOT to say that they hadn't seen things that no child - or anyone, for that matter - should ever see. My heart aches for that entire town, but most especially for the family that I've come to know and love - I can't imagine having to live through a situation like this.

When things are uncertain in our life, Matt has often heard me say 'Everything works out the way it's supposed to, things happen for a reason.' I would like someone to point out to me what possible reason there could be for what happened on Friday.  Various groups will use this incident to further their own agendas - gun control/we should all carry guns/better health care for the mentally ill/lock up all the mentally ill. I have no idea what the answer is - I don't know that there is an answer. Humans  being human, we've done horrible things to each other since the beginning of time. Right now, all I know is that if I think about it for too long, I start to cry - and I'm so grateful to the teachers and administrators who did what they could to protect the children in their care.

None of us knows what is waiting for us around the corner - we make plans to the best of our ability and then something nudges us off our path or spins us around so we have no idea which direction to head. Am I now thinking about the schools my kids go to, and what security measures or lack there-of are in place? Absolutely - my first thought when I walked into our brand new high school two weeks ago was , wow - the cafeteria is right up front by the main entrance and completely open, what if a nut-job walks in with a gun? - but off to school they will go, with an extra tight hug, a big kiss, and a fierce "I love you!". I don't know what else to say, other than that I am heartbroken for the families grieving the loss of their children right now, and for my friends and the other families who have to journey through this awfulness. Pray for them with me.