A sad day for humanity

      Many of you have heard about the horrifying, and terrible events that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conneticut. 20 small children and 6 adults were killed by a gunman who first shot and killed his mother, a kindergarten teacher, and began open fire on the students and faculty. The picture above I feel captures the feelings of this tragic day all too well. The pain and horror on this poor woman's face wrenches my heart.

     Robert Licata said his 6-year-old son was in class when the gunman burst in and shot the teacher.

"That's when my son grabbed a bunch of his friends and ran out the door," he told the Associated Press. "He was very brave."-NBC News

     This quote brings tears to my eyes as I think of how close this man came to losing his son, and how brave this little six year old boy was. I can't even imagine being six and seeing this unfold in front of me.

     I can even begin to fathom what this man was thinking when he committed this horrible act. To take the life of an innocent child is beyond any reach of my imagination. We have not been told if the man killed himself or if police killed him but I have a feeling he most likely turned the gun on himself. I will not venture into my opinions of this man, however I will say this: I truly hope he pays for what he has done.

     I have to say, I am incredibly proud of all the teachers who risked their lives, and some gave them, to protect their students. God bless you all, you are all heroes to me. In the panic and terror of the day they kept the children as safe as they could and did everything possible to ensure their safety. 

     They say you'll never quite understand something until you've been in that situation. It is true I will never be able to fathom or even come close to feeling what the mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and families of the victims will fell. However, now that I have Roxas my thoughts immediately turned to him and my imagination instantly brought up what it might be like to lose him.

     My imagination brought me to the future, sending him off to kindergarten and waiting for him to come home with a new Christmas craft and stories from the playground. Maybe I would be wrapping up a few last Christmas presents for him while he was in school. Then my world crumbles as I learn he will never come home.

     This. This is what I fear. This is a fraction of how those parents feel. Just this brief and dark flitter of a thought makes my heart feel as if it will rip in two. That is why I have said more prayers today than I can count and shed many tears for my heart feels this sadness. Almost as if I feel connected to every other parent out there. I hugged and kissed Roxas all day today and thanked God over and over for all I have.

    So, hug your loved ones and put aside your differences and be thankful for just having each other. It truly is a gift.