Honoring Newtown

It almost seems trivial to post anything about parenting on this site when Newtown is in my mind and on my heart. It's all I thought about the whole weekend, and what still weighs heavy on me in the beginning of a new week. It's heart wrenching to even think about what it was like in the final moments for those poor children, and what it's like for the family and friends they left behind. Eventually those kids and teachers who survived are going to have to go back to school. I'm grateful for the fact that they are likely never going to have to enter the same school they came from. Who could ever return to a place that held so much horror? They have stated that the school will be shut down, and the students will be taught at neighboring schools instead.

But how does someone ever recover from this?

Amidst all of the prayers and love being sent towards the Newtown community, it breaks my heart to also see this tragedy used as a time to point fingers and spread hatred. I'm not talking about the anger towards the gunman and the violent act he committed when he attacked an innocent school. I'm talking about those who choose to use this time to attack others for the way they talk about certain mental illnesses, for whether they are for or against guns, for whether God sparked this for not being in the school or for those who even dare to utter the word God. It breaks my heart that the anger over such an unfair tragedy is being pointed at each other instead of using all of that energy to send loving thoughts towards those who have lost so much.

This Christmas is going to be different for the whole nation, and especially for those in Newtown. 20 children died. 7 adults died. 27 people will not wake to another day. 27 families will never be the same. A whole town, a whole state, a whole county is in mourning. And even those across the world share our grief as they send thoughts of love towards Newtown.

This week, I may be more quiet than usual on this website. But it is to be grateful for all the blessings in my life, to love those around me, and to honor those who lost their lives without warning, and the families who must pick up the pieces from their forever changed lives.

Children lost in the Newtown shooting (8 boys and 12 girls)
Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Madeline Hsu, 6
Catherine Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison Wyatt, 6

Adults lost in the Newtown shooting
Rachel D'Avino, 29
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27
Dawn Hocksprung, 47
Nancy Lanza