Part of having a large family means there are loved ones everywhere. That's usually good. I mean, I can travel almost anywhere in this large country and have a place to stay! Yet, when there is a tragedy--whether natural or a massacre--it seems there are people we need to account for.
My cousin, Jesse, is a great athlete and amazing runner. He's a big guy, and he often wins races for his bracket. He blogs about his races at Pedals & Paddles Worldwide. He always seems to be somewhere amazing for a foot race or cycling event.
He's also from Boston.
Hearing about a tragedy at home is hard. It's hard for all of us. It's down right scary when it happens, and you have to worry about people you love. I'm from Colorado, and we've had more than our share of shootings and violent massacres. It's just not fair to have to call up friends and loved ones to see if they're OK. It also doesn't seem fair to account for your loved ones, only to remember that others weren't so lucky...
In my family, all we needed to hear was about a bomb at the Boston Marathon to think of Jesse. Was he running in that race? If he was, were my aunt, her partner, or my other cousin there cheering him on?
Through the family grapevine, we quickly found out he was OK. We later found out that, yes, he'd been at the race, cheering friends on near the 20 mile marker. I felt relief, and then struggled with that same feeling of guilt that I'm too familiar with now: that wretched feeling that not everyone got good news yesterday.
So, today, I wanted to write and send my love out to everyone affected by this massacre. To everyone who got hurt, to the survivors, to the injured, to the families and friends, to the first responders, and just to everyone who felt pain and fear after reading about it on the news, I'm sending love your way.
Jesse is running in The Pittsburgh Marathon in a few weeks. His goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon to run next year. In my opinion, there's no better way to fight back against the vicious attack the city of Boston went through yesterday. Good on you, Jesse. Kick ass in Pittsburgh!
Link to Jesse's blog entry on The Boston Marathon
Me, I used to run. My running decreased a lot after Oliver was born, and it stopped all together after getting pregnant with Jo. We've been dealing with snow yesterday and today, and it's going to continue into tomorrow. This weekend, I plan on lacing up my shoes and going for jog. One mile, that's my goal. It's not a marathon, but it's a little bit in honor of all the runners yesterday--many of whom went so far and never got to finish.
Edit: A Facebook group has been set up called "Run for Boston 4/17." They're asking people to go for a run tomorrow. If people can, they also ask for everyone to take a picture of themselves wearing blue & yellow and carrying a sign that says, "Run for Boston." It's supposed to snow and be a high of 37 here, but I think I'll try to get a little jog in for the people and city of Boston.
Showing posts with label massacre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label massacre. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Monday, December 17, 2012
Teddy Bear Drive for Sandy Hook Survivors and Grieving Families
I'm not really able to put my feelings into words at this time. What words are appropriate when there are parents out there who had their children taken from them with such violent means? There aren't any.
Being in high school in the south suburbs of Denver at the time, I, of course, was acquainted with people who went to Columbine High School. I still can't even write about it, and I wasn't there. It's making my head hurt just to try to find the right words to write here. This isn't going to be a well-written post, but bear with me. People amaze me every day. The strength of the survivors inspire me. After everything they endure, to find the good in the world again... It's a powerful thing.
**Skip this paragraph if you can't deal with specifics from Sandy Hook.**
Just know that for every person who does a terrible thing, there are people out there doing good. A young man killed children. But there were good people who helped save lives that day. A principal and school therapist lunged at the shooter to stop him. They died trying to stop him. In that time, he let off shots. That gave one teacher, the teacher whose door was closest to the entrance, enough time to lock her classroom door. When the shooter found that door locked, he moved on. A special education teacher used her body to shield her students and died. Another teacher stuffed her young children in a closet. When the shooter entered the room, she lied and told him they were at gym. He shot her. There were real heroes that day. They didn't save everyone, but their good deeds and heroic actions give me hope.
Today, a friend who is a survivor posted on Facebook about a charity drive led by fellow Columbine Massacre survivors. She shared that little acts of kindness helped her to see the good in people again. She said she still has a teddy bear that was given to her after the shooting. Many students were given bears and kept theirs after all this time.
Those survivors are organizing a teddy bear drive. You can find details for the drive at this website:
https://www.phoenix999.org/teddy-bear-drive/
They write:
When our tragedy happened, many kind strangers sent us teddy bears for comfort. We still have those bears. They brought us hope. They continue to bring us comfort and a reminder that there is so much good in the world.
We want to help provide the children and families of Sandy Hook some of the same hope and comfort we received.
If you are in a position to, please consider donating a bear to their teddy bear drive.
My thoughts and sympathy are with all of the parents and siblings and survivors from Sandy Hook. These were babies. All the photos of the deceased--I look at their smiling mouths filled with baby teeth... it's too much. I don't know how the families and community are going to move on. But I think back to those Columbine survivors, and I know good will prevail there, too.
Being in high school in the south suburbs of Denver at the time, I, of course, was acquainted with people who went to Columbine High School. I still can't even write about it, and I wasn't there. It's making my head hurt just to try to find the right words to write here. This isn't going to be a well-written post, but bear with me. People amaze me every day. The strength of the survivors inspire me. After everything they endure, to find the good in the world again... It's a powerful thing.
**Skip this paragraph if you can't deal with specifics from Sandy Hook.**
Just know that for every person who does a terrible thing, there are people out there doing good. A young man killed children. But there were good people who helped save lives that day. A principal and school therapist lunged at the shooter to stop him. They died trying to stop him. In that time, he let off shots. That gave one teacher, the teacher whose door was closest to the entrance, enough time to lock her classroom door. When the shooter found that door locked, he moved on. A special education teacher used her body to shield her students and died. Another teacher stuffed her young children in a closet. When the shooter entered the room, she lied and told him they were at gym. He shot her. There were real heroes that day. They didn't save everyone, but their good deeds and heroic actions give me hope.
Today, a friend who is a survivor posted on Facebook about a charity drive led by fellow Columbine Massacre survivors. She shared that little acts of kindness helped her to see the good in people again. She said she still has a teddy bear that was given to her after the shooting. Many students were given bears and kept theirs after all this time.
Those survivors are organizing a teddy bear drive. You can find details for the drive at this website:
https://www.phoenix999.org/teddy-bear-drive/
They write:
When our tragedy happened, many kind strangers sent us teddy bears for comfort. We still have those bears. They brought us hope. They continue to bring us comfort and a reminder that there is so much good in the world.
We want to help provide the children and families of Sandy Hook some of the same hope and comfort we received.
If you are in a position to, please consider donating a bear to their teddy bear drive.
My thoughts and sympathy are with all of the parents and siblings and survivors from Sandy Hook. These were babies. All the photos of the deceased--I look at their smiling mouths filled with baby teeth... it's too much. I don't know how the families and community are going to move on. But I think back to those Columbine survivors, and I know good will prevail there, too.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Another Tragedy Near Home
By this late morning hour, most people have heard about the shooting during the midnight premiere showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora. I've been trying to process the information all morning. We may never have the answers to my questions, but I can't help wondering why this young man shot up the theater. He killed a dozen people, injured dozens more, and his victims included babies, kids, and teenagers. I ache to know a motive, to hear his demented reasoning. I ache for the families who lost loved ones and are left imagining the fear and pain of friends and family members who were in that theater with the gunman.
All these news stories are saying there's no link between this man and terrorists, but that doesn't mean his rampage wasn't a form of terrorism. It most certainly was.
I've lived in Colorado for fifteen years now. I went to high school in Englewood when the Columbine massacre happened in Littleton, and I lived just a couple miles away from the Deer Creek Middle School shooting that happened last year. It scares me to think of the risk of sending my kids to school here. The shooters made me afraid of public places, and that is terrorism. Two years ago, a man tried to set a bomb off at the mall near my house. In the wee hours of the morning today, that gunman opened fire at a mall theater across town.
It made me realize that terrorism doesn't just occur abroad. It's not something that just people in the Middle East have to deal with. I hear of stories of people blowing themselves up in places like Israel, and I think how scary it is--but it's far away from me and seems like a different world. Yet, how are these shootings and bombings that different? The truth is, we have to deal with it here, at home, in America, at the hands of other Americans.
How can I protect my kids when these massacres are random? The answer is: I can't. I don't want to lock my kids up at home and teach them to live in fear.
I am so sorry for all the people affected by the tragedy this morning. I hope everyone can eventually find healing. Hug your little ones a little tighter today, as we are all reminded how fragile our lives are.
Love & Peace to all my readers.
All these news stories are saying there's no link between this man and terrorists, but that doesn't mean his rampage wasn't a form of terrorism. It most certainly was.
I've lived in Colorado for fifteen years now. I went to high school in Englewood when the Columbine massacre happened in Littleton, and I lived just a couple miles away from the Deer Creek Middle School shooting that happened last year. It scares me to think of the risk of sending my kids to school here. The shooters made me afraid of public places, and that is terrorism. Two years ago, a man tried to set a bomb off at the mall near my house. In the wee hours of the morning today, that gunman opened fire at a mall theater across town.
It made me realize that terrorism doesn't just occur abroad. It's not something that just people in the Middle East have to deal with. I hear of stories of people blowing themselves up in places like Israel, and I think how scary it is--but it's far away from me and seems like a different world. Yet, how are these shootings and bombings that different? The truth is, we have to deal with it here, at home, in America, at the hands of other Americans.
How can I protect my kids when these massacres are random? The answer is: I can't. I don't want to lock my kids up at home and teach them to live in fear.
I am so sorry for all the people affected by the tragedy this morning. I hope everyone can eventually find healing. Hug your little ones a little tighter today, as we are all reminded how fragile our lives are.
Love & Peace to all my readers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)