A Day Of Sadness

Newtown, Connecticut ... most of us had never heard of it before the tragedy today. By all accounts it is a quiet little community filled with people who know their neighbors, work hard and love their children. A town like thousands of others. But because of the heinous actions of one young man, the lives of the people of this small town will never be the same. And all over our country Americans stopped in their tracks and felt a universal shock. We probably asked ourselves the same question, "Why?" knowing perfectly well that there will not be an answer that any of us will be able to accept or understand.
Already, I've watched the interviews with experts who have offered possible explanations but there really is no good reason for something like deliberate massacre of innocents. How can you explain evil?
But out of stories like this always arise the stories of heroism. There are those, who in the face of terror and madness, exhibit such bravery. They are the men and women and children who cared for those around them.
I saw one picture in the news today of a young boy and girl, slightly older standing outside. The little girl had her arm around the visibly frightened boy's shoulder, obviously offering him comfort. It made me wonder, was this an older sister looking after her little brother? Another picture showed a police officer walking hand in hand with a little child who had the officer's coat draped around his shoulders and I thought, this is Connecticut in December. These little ones were not only scared but they were cold. Picture after picture showed these young children wearing over sized coats. Grown ups were doing the one tangible thing they could immediately do to comfort these children ... they were offering them warmth.
But the thing that touched me the most in the aftermath of photos and interviews was one interview given by young teacher who talked about moving her class into a small bathroom at the back of the classroom and waiting for help. She talked about how she tried to keep the children calm even though she was sure that, since her class was so close to where the gunfire was, they would be killed. She assured the children in her care that they would be okay. She said that she wanted these children's last memory to be hearing that they were loved and that is what she said to them.
Working at an elementary school I thought of the children that I associate with each day and the teachers whose care they are in. There is no doubt in my mind that, faced with the same awful circumstance, they too would do everything in their power to protect them. It is an honor to work beside them.
In the midst of all this news today, a kindergarten class visited the library. In that class was my own sweet grandson. I was reading a pop-up book version of The Night Before Christmas to them. It is a magical book and their faces were so intent on the story. I don't think they noticed when I got a little choked up and my voice caught. They were just so sweet and excited about Christmas and Santa and all of the magic. And I thought that must have been how the day had started in Newton.
Which brings us back to that question of "Why?" We ask it every time there is a tragedy like this. Maybe the question we need to ask is not why but what? What can we do, as a nation, to prevent these type of things? and how? How can we protect our children when they are at the movies, or the mall or the classroom?
And in the meantime, we need to remember how precious each day is. We need to be kind to one another. We need to make sure our children know of our love for them. We need our friends to know that we care.
And we can remember.