Sunday, December 16, 2012

Connecticut Tragedy

First and foremost let me start by saying how deeply saddened I am by the events of last Friday. I pray that all of the families of the survivors and those that perished are comforted in this horrific time. I can't help but think about all of the presents under Christmas trees that will go unopened this year because the child is no longer with us. My heart breaks for every person affected by this. I've been wanting to talk about this with my kids and chose tonight to talk to them about the lockdown procedures in their schools. I was really relieved to hear that both schools have a procedure and both of my youngest children have participated in drills at school in the event there is an emergency in there school (and lets hope there never is). I changed the radio to the station that was broadcasting the memorial service and my kids listened intently with me. My daughter's mood shifted in an alarming way and despite my repeated attempts to try to figure out what was wrong she kept telling me nothing was wrong. I never thought that this affected her the way it did which I admit, was insensitive of me. She shared with me later that she didn't really understand why her mood shifted and that she wondered if it was because she was thinking too much about the shooting. This tragedy is far reaching .... it affects others who weren't directly impacted. My kids undoubtedly worry for their own safety and we all wonder what those 10 minutes were like for all those children. Don't ignore how this might affect your children. Ask them how it makes them feel. Assure them they are safe. I told my daughter that she shouldn't think too much about this. It's a terrible, horrible tragedy and it's so unfortunate and that it's good to know about the situation but she shouldn't watch too many You Tube videos or focus too much on watching things on the internet or TV related to the shooting. It's too upsetting and clearly affects her. Most importantly, hug your children extra hard tonight, because you can.

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