Sadden

Yesterday was a very long day for me, as I am sure it was for many people around the world.  I sat in front of my Television for hours watching the horrific story unfold.  I watched children crying, parents screaming and many people reaching out for others.  I sat there watching our leader of our country cry, news anchors sat in silence because they had to fight back the tears.  It angered me... How did we allow our world to come to this?

The day I became a teacher my life was immediately filled with the kind of joy and love a parent has towards their own children.  Luckily for me I get that joy and love multiplied times 100 :) I didn't become an educator for the summer months off.  I became an educator because I knew that I could help make a difference in many children's lives. 

Maybe that is why yesterday's events feels like someone has punched me in the stomach.  I can't stop thinking of the fear, the screams and the cries from the children.  I can't image how those teachers had to put on a brave face to keep the children calm.  The one thing that bothers me the most is the lifelong scars those children/teachers will have to deal with. They will never view school/work as a safe place again...and that right there is what makes me so mad.  How dare someone take that away from innocent children who just want to learn.

School should be a place where children are worried about who they sit with at lunch or what teacher they may have next year.  They should be having fun, learning and believing that they too can be anything they want to be.  They shouldn't have to worry about guns, violence or if they will ever see their parents again. 

Today, I finally was able to release some anger and tears for yesterday's terrible crime.  I cried not because I know those children but because those children are like every single child in my classroom.  Those teachers are my co-workers, my friends...that Principal is my sister.  We all can relate to what happened... we all can be someone in that school. 

My sister Patty couldn't have said it any better.  Put away the video games, turn off your phones, unplug your tv's and spend time explaining to your children why the world is the way it is. We are all a little guilty of letting the world control us. Stop, look around and look for a moment of peace. It truly is a hard place to find. Our lives are all moving to fast and we are not taking the time to smile, hug, and treat others with respect. We are all too worried about what are neighbor is doing and we are not looking at ourselves. We are all affected by today's tragedy, it what you do tomorrow that can make a difference.

My heart continues to break knowing that this could have happened in my school, my sister's schools, my nieces and nephew's schools....it could have happened to any of us.  We can take guns away, put more money towards the mental ill.....but bottom line is we created this ugly world and now it is time to create a place that children don't have to live in fear.  I don't know what the answer is but I do know that this can't continue to go on... to many lives have been lost.