All over the internet, all over television... today is the 10th anniversary of the tragedy at Columbine. My thoughts and prayers go out to the survivors of that horrible day. The friends, families, injured, and affected. Especially to the parents of those lost and injured.
10 years ago today, we were in Mexico on vacation. The eyes of the world, for weeks afterwards, were on Colorado. Specifically a suburb of Denver called Littleton. It was ALL the BBC talked about the rest of our trip - and since we had no American stations available, we relied on international news for all of our information. It was so strange. There were 8 of us in the group that traveled together, and wherever we went people asked if we knew anyone that was hurt. Honestly, we didn't know. Husband and friends played soccer with a man who taught at Columbine - but we aren't from that part of town, we'd answer. We're from South East Denver, and Columbine is in South West Denver. I remember specifically someone from the east coast asking if Littleton was a "bad" part of town. I don't remember who it was, but someone in our group answered, "Not at all. If you aren't safe in Littleton Colorado, you aren't safe anywhere."
The world changed that day. All of the sudden, school's were no longer the bastion of safety for our children. Since then? Even worse. Now it's not just an American problem. This kind of insanity is worldwide.
About 7 weeks after that vacation we found out that we were going to have a lifelong souvenir from our trip - DD1. Our first child , a treasure to be kept safe. I know that someday my kids will have to leave our little nest - and that when the time comes they will gladly go. But, wasn't High School supposed to be where Moms and Dads practice "letting go"? Wasn't that the relatively safe environment before they fly up to college to practice their adult skills without us so close? Now neither place is potentially as safe as it once was... and that worries me. Because we can parent them, we can love them, and we can try to make sure they are morally and ethically strong, caring people. But we can't control who crosses their paths in life. And 10 years ago today that prospect got a lot scarier.
Pray for the survivors today.
4 comments:
Beautiful words on such for a day worth remembering
Between Columbine and 9/11/01, my naive view of the world changed.
I have had days where I truly did not want to send my kids to school.
I am one of the oddballs among my friends that actually feels sorry, or maybe sadness is a better word, for the shooters. I can't imagine my children reaching a point where they could do such a horrid thing, without me realizing that something was wrong.
I will never forget that day, where I was or what I was doing. Some days are so stunning, they are burned into memory forever.
Beautiful post Dodi...
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