Monday, December 17, 2012

Lucky


I am lucky.  Because this morning I got to get up and see these little faces.  I got to hug them, hear their voices, see their smiles.  Hear them complain about being tired, being cold outside.  They are HERE.  Across the country in Connecticut, 27 families are waking up to the cold reality that they will never see their loved ones again.  Never hold them, hear their voices, feel their warm breath on their cheeks.  Yes, I am lucky.
My children are my life.  The reason I wake up every morning.  Why I plow through my days, bake, clean, cook, teach, sew.  Everything.  When we became pregnant with Jamie, our oldest, we decided I would become a stay at home mom.  I am so lucky (again) that my husband's occupation affords me that opportunity.  While it hasn't always been easy, it has allowed me to see their first steps, hear their first words, be there for every nick, scrape and cut.  Every single amazing moment of their lives.
In 1993 I lost my twin son, Giancarlo, to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) so I know the pain of losing a child.  But not to  a senseless act of violence.  I can only imagine the pain these parents are enduring by having their innocent child snatched from them for no good reason other than a madman decided today was the day.
So today as I dropped my boys off at school today, I had to fight not to look scared, not to tell them, if you hear any commotion on campus, hide.  Not to scare them and take away their innocence which seems to be whittled away by society.  I am taking a closer look at what they see on TV, what games they play and toys they have.  The little gun Gavin received just a week ago is gone.  Why do they make children's guns look so realistic?  Are we that desensitized as a society to not realize that our children think war is a game?  That seeing a death on a video game is just another point?  We need to taker a closer look at what our children are exposed to not just in our home but outside also.
Today, I am lucky, I am grateful and I am blessed.  Please, take a moment to say a prayer for the 27 souls that were lost.  Be kind to one another.  It only takes a second to give a smile, say hello or simply hold the door for someone.  Set an example.  And remember in some way, we are all lucky.