Why????

Columbine. VA Tech. Aurora. The most recent Portland mall shooting, plus WAY too many other horrific, senseless shootings. And now Sandy Hook.

My brain cannot comprehend the kind of madness and hate and I don't know what else that would compel someone to do unspeakable things like this. I can't help but think about what broke this person and turned him into a monster. Was it something he was born with? Something that happened in his childhood? Something that could have been prevented? What makes someone do this???

I don't think we'll ever get enough answers and whatever answers we get will never make it ok. That unknown is scary to me. How do I protect my kids from not only being victims, but from being broken somewhere along the way?

I'm so heartbroken for the parents who lost children just like my own, and I'm mourning the loss of innocent lives and the loss of innocence for all of the other children who had to witness such a terrifying ordeal.

I just pray that my children never have to experience the terror that those children went through. I even hate that my boys heard anything about what happened at all. Explaining it was tough--I don't even know what to tell them, or how much they can or should understand about the situation. I just let them know that even though there are people who do very bad things, there are many more people who do really good things, and we have to always try to be one of those people. To care about others and always know right from wrong. That I was sorry to be crying, but it just means that I care about how other people feel and that's always a good thing.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. " -Martin Luther King, Jr

So like every other parent who was fortunate enough to tuck their children safely into bed tonight, I hugged them a lot tighter, told them I loved them, and we said a prayer for those whose lives were lost and whose hearts were hurting.



Rest in peace.