Sandy Hook

I'm not a very good writer but I want to not make this about me at all, and yet, I'm sure it won't come across that way. In the middle of teaching class today, I got a schoolwide email from our principal about the "incident" in Connecticut that she was sure we all knew about. 20 children killed. 6 adults killed. One mother killed. And one killer killed. I don't know if I've ever been so instantly shocked by news. I still can't believe it. I'm having real trouble dealing with this. Why? I just spoke a couple of days ago about how it only takes one person to ruin things so much for so many. I wish I hadn't. I wish there wasn't an even better example of what I was trying to say before. So many beautiful lives. Not just the 27 dead. But the hundreds and thousands of lives that are directly and indirectly connected to those lives lost. They are forever changed. And it just took one person on one day with one act. We have to do better. Maybe it's politics and gun policy, though we know that's not the only answer (although I will always believe it's a big piece), I mean look at Norway. Maybe it's talk about mental health issues and the lack of intervention and support in that area. Maybe it's talk about a million other topics. But whatever it is, we can't keep doing this to ourselves. Or maybe we will and we can. Maybe it's the human condition and it's a horrible matter of luck as to whether or not one of us is in the reach of someone who snaps. My heart is broken. I broke down in front of my students today. They comforted me when it should have been me that was strong for them. I came home and held my children way too long. I can not imagine what these families are going through tonight. There can be nothing worse. I want to believe that everyone in this country and maybe around the world are thinking about the students and staff at Sandy Hook. There's a natural push to try to think about something else. Distract yourself. Don't focus on something that is so upsetting and that hurts so much. But what's the alternative? Not think about them? No. What happened today should be what everyone is thinking about. And how can we prevent things like this from happening again, ever, in the way we love each other and take care of each other and look out for one another forever? There is nothing worse than what happened today.