Hi all - Well, according to the Mayan's we shouldn't be here today...and here we are. Although, it's only 10:01 a.m. and the day isn't over yet - I'm pretty sure the Oreo won! Haha! Anywho - this has been an insane month, and I'm tired y'all! But overall it's been good. Of course, my heart has been heavy for the Sandy Hook tragedy - having kids of my own in 2nd and 3rd grade - it's just too close to home. One thing that has helped me has been keeping busy. At work I haven't had the media overload that a lot of others have had - oh sure, I went online and looked up stories and cried...but I haven't seen a news report on tv yet. Not that I haven't wanted to, but we've been keeping the tv from the kids seeing it all - they are at an age they don't need to see so much tragedy, and I don't want to have to answer all the questions that come in the wake of that - call me selfish, but I don't know how I would answer those questions coming from a 7 year old! What can you say? You can't explain such a horrific event to a child because how would they understand when you can't even understand why? Last Friday when I first saw it at work on Yahoo, it made me cry - I went in the bathroom and bawled for those children, their familes and the teachers - and this was before any names or count had come out - it just saddened me to no ends. That evening my friend and I had plans to go see the Hobbit - I'll be honest, it was a blessed relief to be able to get my mind off of the tragedy, if only for a little while. Saturday we were just as busy - Breakfast with Santa, haircut, Holiday Festival at the school, and our neighborhood Christmas Party - it was such a full day that, again, I was able to focus on good things and not the tragedy - except at the school when the prinipal got up to speak and we had a moment of silence for the lives lost at Sandy Hook. It hit us all hard - there wasn't a dry eye in the cafeteria that day. The principal never mentioned WHAT happened (there were hundreds of kids there, and she was very couth about how she addressed it). We also received a memo from the school addressing the emergency safety plans following the recent events. It's a sobering thought - this happened in a little small CT school, but it could happen anywhere. Sunday was my birthday - it was hard to be a celebratory mood, but we tried and still managed to have fun - hubby and I went to see Skyfall, which was great! Tragedy happens, but the world still turns. We move on - a little more jaded and world weary, but we still find joy in the everyday things. Hug your children, say I love you and make the most of every day. Happiness is a choice - we can either drown in sorrow, or we can look at life and realize how blessed we are to have what we have, not get caught up in what we don't. No one is immune to grief - death, heartache, loss - it affects us all at some point in our life. I lost a brother when I was a teenager - it was hard. My word of advice for those who have lost a loved one, whether in this tragedy or in another way - grieve, but don't let grief change who you are. Live, laugh, love, cry...Feel! Cherish the memories and hold on to the thought that the loved one you had was a blessing, and be assured that one day you will see them again! One day...
