Yesterday, as we were driving to run some errands to get us out of the house, Jenna noticed that the flag on a nearby middle schools flagpole was not all the way up. She giggled and said they needed to fix it. I was caught off guard that she made such an observation. I thought for a second before answering her, but wanted to tell her before she forgot and saw something else to think about. I told her the flag was only half way up to honor the people who got hurt. She asked why people got hurt and I told her that a bad person wanted to hurt then. “And then all the people got better, right mom?” It was tough to answer her and tell her that while many people got better, some didn’t. She seemed okay about the idea of them going back to live with Heavenly Father, which is also a comfort to me.
We had the news on our tv for hours on Saturday, and a little each evening since the shooting in our town. While the Safeway where the Congresswoman was shot is at least 30 minutes across town from us, it still hit WAY too close to home. The idea that violence like we normally see in movies could happen here was scary. I cried when they said a child was killed, and again reading the names and information provided on each of the victim. We’ve included those affected in our prayers and I’ve prayed especially for the parents of that little girl.
We only caught the highlights of the memorial service last night that the President attended, but I have found comfort in the unity in Tucson. I think like after any tragedy, the Nation is trying to heal and figure out how to move forward. For me, that means squeezing my babies and making sure they know that they are loved.
1 comment:
Lucy heard some reporting on the news this morning. I asked her if she knew about what happened. This is what she told me. "Yeah, there was a guy. He was coming to Arizona to shoot all the people. So we're supposed to hug our families. Oh, yeah..." She pauses to give me a squeeze. I told her that the gunman was in jail and that we were safe. She continued saying, "We had a minute of quiet when we were supposed to think about our family. It was like for an hour." Your post was very nice. It doesn't surprise me at all that Jenna picked up on that. She's a smart one, that girl.
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