| Commentary and Philosophy Non-Fiction posted December 14, 2012 | Chapters: |
...60 61 -62- 63... 
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No child should ever experience this
A chapter in the book Dear Lexi
This I Can Promise
by Rdfrdmom2
The call came at 4:05 p.m.
“Hey, honey. What’s up?”
“Have you seen the news?”
“No.”
“Where are you?”
“Sitting in your living room playing games with Lexi on Disney Junior.”
I could tell my daughter, Cindy, was trying to gather herself before she broke whatever tragic news she had to share. After expelling a long, low breath, she began:
“There’s been a shooting at an elementary school…”
I tried to focus on what she was saying but my unmedicated ADHD brain was already dreading which of our school system’s twelve elementary schools had experienced such a horrific thing. My mind sped ahead, wondering how many children and adults may have been injured – please, God, don’t let there have been any deaths.
“… 20 kindergarten children and a teacher in Connecticut. There may have been an aide shot, too.”
Lord, forgive me for being so relieved it wasn’t one of our schools. We are so blessed. Thank you so much that it was not my daughter's school.
“I didn’t hear about it until 3:05 p.m. It’s just crazy.”
“I know, honey. Can you imagine being one of the first responders to a scene like that? I don’t know how you get over seeing something like that.”
“Me, either,” Cindy sighed. “I just needed to hear Lexi’s voice.”
“I understand.”
As I held the phone for my not quite four-year-old granddaughter to talk to her mommy, I reflected on the many times I had called to check on Cindy during my educational career when tragedies occurred at any school in the world, not just in our nation. I knew all too well that deep-seated need Cindy had to connect to her only child.
Mom and daughter chatted for a few minutes, then Cindy told Lexi she would be home from work a little later on. I wanted to assure them both they would always be safe with me; however, to say that in the world in which we live would be a lie.
In 2012 alone, America has experienced shootings at the Empire State Building, at a movie theatre, at a bar, at a Sikh temple, a spa, a café, in a high school cafeteria (twice), outside a funeral home, places of employment, grocery stores, community colleges, universities, a mall and while riding on school buses. These are just the mass and school shootings.
Every day, we hear about home invasions, drive-by shootings and robberies resulting in someone being murdered. Nine people were murdered in South Chicago on the same day earlier this year. It did not qualify as a mass murder because the murders did not occur at the same site.
What do I tell them in light of this information? I tell them I love them every chance I get. I promise I will do all within my power to keep them safe. I share my faith with them. I spend as much quality time with each of them as possible. But, I cannot promise either of them I can keep them safe. Instead, tonight, with tears threatening to flood my cheeks, I hug each of them as tight as I can before I leave to go home – and I tell them I will always love them. That’s one promise I can keep.
*Godspeed to the families and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School. The community of Newtown, Connecticut will never be the same because Adam Lanza created a new normal for everyone there on Friday, December 14, 2012.
580 words
Non-Fiction Writing Contest contest entry
The call came at 4:05 p.m.
“Hey, honey. What’s up?”
“Have you seen the news?”
“No.”
“Where are you?”
“Sitting in your living room playing games with Lexi on Disney Junior.”
I could tell my daughter, Cindy, was trying to gather herself before she broke whatever tragic news she had to share. After expelling a long, low breath, she began:
“There’s been a shooting at an elementary school…”
I tried to focus on what she was saying but my unmedicated ADHD brain was already dreading which of our school system’s twelve elementary schools had experienced such a horrific thing. My mind sped ahead, wondering how many children and adults may have been injured – please, God, don’t let there have been any deaths.
“… 20 kindergarten children and a teacher in Connecticut. There may have been an aide shot, too.”
Lord, forgive me for being so relieved it wasn’t one of our schools. We are so blessed. Thank you so much that it was not my daughter's school.
“I didn’t hear about it until 3:05 p.m. It’s just crazy.”
“I know, honey. Can you imagine being one of the first responders to a scene like that? I don’t know how you get over seeing something like that.”
“Me, either,” Cindy sighed. “I just needed to hear Lexi’s voice.”
“I understand.”
As I held the phone for my not quite four-year-old granddaughter to talk to her mommy, I reflected on the many times I had called to check on Cindy during my educational career when tragedies occurred at any school in the world, not just in our nation. I knew all too well that deep-seated need Cindy had to connect to her only child.
Mom and daughter chatted for a few minutes, then Cindy told Lexi she would be home from work a little later on. I wanted to assure them both they would always be safe with me; however, to say that in the world in which we live would be a lie.
In 2012 alone, America has experienced shootings at the Empire State Building, at a movie theatre, at a bar, at a Sikh temple, a spa, a café, in a high school cafeteria (twice), outside a funeral home, places of employment, grocery stores, community colleges, universities, a mall and while riding on school buses. These are just the mass and school shootings.
Every day, we hear about home invasions, drive-by shootings and robberies resulting in someone being murdered. Nine people were murdered in South Chicago on the same day earlier this year. It did not qualify as a mass murder because the murders did not occur at the same site.
What do I tell them in light of this information? I tell them I love them every chance I get. I promise I will do all within my power to keep them safe. I share my faith with them. I spend as much quality time with each of them as possible. But, I cannot promise either of them I can keep them safe. Instead, tonight, with tears threatening to flood my cheeks, I hug each of them as tight as I can before I leave to go home – and I tell them I will always love them. That’s one promise I can keep.
*Godspeed to the families and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School. The community of Newtown, Connecticut will never be the same because Adam Lanza created a new normal for everyone there on Friday, December 14, 2012.
580 words
“Hey, honey. What’s up?”
“Have you seen the news?”
“No.”
“Where are you?”
“Sitting in your living room playing games with Lexi on Disney Junior.”
I could tell my daughter, Cindy, was trying to gather herself before she broke whatever tragic news she had to share. After expelling a long, low breath, she began:
“There’s been a shooting at an elementary school…”
I tried to focus on what she was saying but my unmedicated ADHD brain was already dreading which of our school system’s twelve elementary schools had experienced such a horrific thing. My mind sped ahead, wondering how many children and adults may have been injured – please, God, don’t let there have been any deaths.
“… 20 kindergarten children and a teacher in Connecticut. There may have been an aide shot, too.”
Lord, forgive me for being so relieved it wasn’t one of our schools. We are so blessed. Thank you so much that it was not my daughter's school.
“I didn’t hear about it until 3:05 p.m. It’s just crazy.”
“I know, honey. Can you imagine being one of the first responders to a scene like that? I don’t know how you get over seeing something like that.”
“Me, either,” Cindy sighed. “I just needed to hear Lexi’s voice.”
“I understand.”
As I held the phone for my not quite four-year-old granddaughter to talk to her mommy, I reflected on the many times I had called to check on Cindy during my educational career when tragedies occurred at any school in the world, not just in our nation. I knew all too well that deep-seated need Cindy had to connect to her only child.
Mom and daughter chatted for a few minutes, then Cindy told Lexi she would be home from work a little later on. I wanted to assure them both they would always be safe with me; however, to say that in the world in which we live would be a lie.
In 2012 alone, America has experienced shootings at the Empire State Building, at a movie theatre, at a bar, at a Sikh temple, a spa, a café, in a high school cafeteria (twice), outside a funeral home, places of employment, grocery stores, community colleges, universities, a mall and while riding on school buses. These are just the mass and school shootings.
Every day, we hear about home invasions, drive-by shootings and robberies resulting in someone being murdered. Nine people were murdered in South Chicago on the same day earlier this year. It did not qualify as a mass murder because the murders did not occur at the same site.
What do I tell them in light of this information? I tell them I love them every chance I get. I promise I will do all within my power to keep them safe. I share my faith with them. I spend as much quality time with each of them as possible. But, I cannot promise either of them I can keep them safe. Instead, tonight, with tears threatening to flood my cheeks, I hug each of them as tight as I can before I leave to go home – and I tell them I will always love them. That’s one promise I can keep.
*Godspeed to the families and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School. The community of Newtown, Connecticut will never be the same because Adam Lanza created a new normal for everyone there on Friday, December 14, 2012.
580 words
 Recognized |
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A special thanks to debbie johnson for the use of "For Sandy Elementary" to enhance this piece. Not only was today's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School every parent's worse nightmare, it is also every educator's worse nightmare. As a former elementary principal, my heart bleeds for the entire Newtown, Connecticut community. Thank you for reading.
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