The whole country has been transfixed by the events that happened in Boston. The tragedy has stirred up a lot of feelings in my family and provoked many questions from my younger children.
At first I tried to shelter Rain from the reality of what took place and hide the horrific truth behind the story. Our news coverage is so picture driven and hard to avoid.
I tried to call it “an accidental explosion,” but with eyes wide open and super sonic ears; she heard too much from too many sources. Most children do and many questions came up…”How did the explosion start, who did that, why did they do that?”
As a nation we don’t have those answers, so you can imagine my struggle with my six-year-old – who is wise beyond her years. I’d like to protect her from the reality of terrorism but not the naked truth that there are both good and bad people in our world. I told her that we do not always get to know WHY people do what they do. What we do know is that life is precious and we must live it as such.
This morning at the market I asked the check-out clerk how she was doing, and she said, “Too early to know and too late to care.” Rain replied, “Yeah because you just never know how your day is gonna turn out.” Her wisdom and innocent, unaffected ways amaze me. She gets it, the good and the bad. We pray as a family and she always asks God to protect us… she believes in that, and holds on to it even in these crazy times.
Last night’s dinner conversation stuck with me. My friend spoke about how important last words and goodbyes can be… because as Rain said, you just never know what can happen. This morning when my alarm went off, instead of going into her room to wake her up for school, I pulled back her comfy blanket and climbed in to cuddle her. We snuggled and kissed for five minutes, then started our morning routine. I brushed her hair and made two braids, and when they didn’t lay exactly how she envisioned, I started over and made them again and better the second time. She was so happy.
I held her hand tighter on the walk to school and picked her up like a four-year-old as she wrapped around me like a chimpanzee, just like when she was little. I miss those days. We hugged and kissed goodbye for a few extra minutes and I said, “I can’t wait to see you tonight, have the best day ever!” She gave me a million dollar smile.
This is a picture of a moment that puts my whole world into perspective. Tragic times remind me that there are no ordinary moments.
We will pray as a family for Boston and everyone affected… my heart aches for the families who are suffering.
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