I can't put into words how big of a tragedy this is. The massacre at the Colorado theater is still fresh for many of us, as are the shootings at the mall in Washington and elsewhere. Those events were just as tragic as this one without a single doubt. But for me, this tragedy hit home the hardest, as I teach the age group specifically targeted at today's shootings at the daycare where I work in Austin, TX. If a single one of these children I've grown to love over the past few months were to ever be harmed in any fashion, I'd be almost as traumatized as the parents themselves.
For ten hours a day I teach two year old boys and girls colors, numbers, read to them, play with them, and try not to rip my hair out in the process. For ten hours a day I make arts and crafts with after school kids, building caves out of cardboard and helping them with their homework. For ten hours a day, I interact with a many number of coworkers, all of whom I know very personally and consider family. If I lost any of my family to a tragedy as senseless, cruel, and horrifying as this...I don't think I'd ever be the same person. I couldn't be.
Which is why today I hugged "my" kids a little longer before they left for home. Which is why I asked a few coworkers out for coffee on Sunday. Which is why I decided to write a post for my blog. It sounds cheesy, maybe, but this tragedy more than the rest opened my eyes to what could one day be taken from me and honestly, I was terrified.
I refuse to go into politics or write the name of that horrible gunman in this post, as neither of these things have any precedent over those children and faculty who are dead. Their deaths deserve moments of reflection, and that is simply all I want this post to be about.
For those affected personally by this terrible tragedy, my hearts and prayers go out to you.
Sending love from the heart of Texas,
Lily A.
