My
cousin crossed the finish line at the marathon five minutes before the
bombs went off, where my family waited to cheer her on. Another younger
cousin was one academic building away at Virginia Tech, my alma mater,
and cowering under a desk while the shooter was stalking students with a
gun, six years ago today (one might conclude that being related to me
is dangerous business). When I got engaged, we celebrated on the top
floor of the World Trade Center, one year before the towers fell. Each
attack felt personal. There by the grace of God go I.
My
heart hurts this morning, as does my head since I had CNN on until 2
a.m. I tried to shield Ethan from some of the news coverage but he had
heard about the bombings. “Did someone do that on purpose?” As a
parent, what do you do? Do you lie and tell him that it was an
accident, nothing to worry about? Or do you embrace the horrible truth
that our world is a scary unpredictable place where the most ordinary day can be shattered by violence and mayhem in a split second?
He’s ten, and mature, so I opted for a short version of the truth.
“Yes, it appears at though someone did this on purpose. But the
doctors are working hard to help all the people that got hurt. And the
police are working hard to search for the criminal to keep people safe.
I know it’s a scary thing. Do you have any questions? Do you want to
talk about what happened?”
He thought for a moment.
“Jessica and Uncle C and Aunt B are ok?”
“Yes, they are fine.”
He nodded.
“So, what place did Jessica come in during the race? Next time we go
up there can I try on her medal? Did she win? It’s awesome she can run
that far.”
Yes. It’s awesome. Today I embrace the awesome –
my relatives that are safe, those people that can run 26 plus miles
(wow), those that ran toward the danger to help out the injured, those
that gave blood, the doctors, nurses, cops, FBI, that have been working
around-the-clock since this occurred. And my child, who in the light of
horrific tragedy, still wants to know who won the race and whether he
can try on the medal. Innocence tarnished, but not lost.
Wishing all my friends a gentle day.
My
cousin crossed the finish line at the marathon five minutes before the
bombs went off, where my family waited to cheer her on. Another younger
cousin was one academic building away at Virginia Tech, my alma mater,
and cowering under a desk while the shooter was stalking students with a
gun, six years ago today (one might conclude that being related to me
is dangerous business). When I got engaged, we celebrated on the top
floor of the World Trade Center, one year before the towers fell. Each
attack felt personal. There by the grace of God go I.
My heart hurts this morning, as does my head since I had CNN on until 2 a.m. I tried to shield Ethan from some of the news coverage but he had heard about the bombings. “Did someone do that on purpose?” As a parent, what do you do? Do you lie and tell him that it was an accident, nothing to worry about? Or do you embrace the horrible truth that our world is a scary unpredictable place where the most ordinary day can be shattered by violence and mayhem in a split second?
He’s ten, and mature, so I opted for a short version of the truth.
“Yes, it appears at though someone did this on purpose. But the doctors are working hard to help all the people that got hurt. And the police are working hard to search for the criminal to keep people safe. I know it’s a scary thing. Do you have any questions? Do you want to talk about what happened?”
He thought for a moment.
“Jessica and Uncle C and Aunt B are ok?”
“Yes, they are fine.”
He nodded.
“So, what place did Jessica come in during the race? Next time we go up there can I try on her medal? Did she win? It’s awesome she can run that far.”
Yes. It’s awesome. Today I embrace the awesome – my relatives that are safe, those people that can run 26 plus miles (wow), those that ran toward the danger to help out the injured, those that gave blood, the doctors, nurses, cops, FBI, that have been working around-the-clock since this occurred. And my child, who in the light of horrific tragedy, still wants to know who won the race and whether he can try on the medal. Innocence tarnished, but not lost.
Wishing all my friends a gentle day.
My heart hurts this morning, as does my head since I had CNN on until 2 a.m. I tried to shield Ethan from some of the news coverage but he had heard about the bombings. “Did someone do that on purpose?” As a parent, what do you do? Do you lie and tell him that it was an accident, nothing to worry about? Or do you embrace the horrible truth that our world is a scary unpredictable place where the most ordinary day can be shattered by violence and mayhem in a split second?
He’s ten, and mature, so I opted for a short version of the truth.
“Yes, it appears at though someone did this on purpose. But the doctors are working hard to help all the people that got hurt. And the police are working hard to search for the criminal to keep people safe. I know it’s a scary thing. Do you have any questions? Do you want to talk about what happened?”
He thought for a moment.
“Jessica and Uncle C and Aunt B are ok?”
“Yes, they are fine.”
He nodded.
“So, what place did Jessica come in during the race? Next time we go up there can I try on her medal? Did she win? It’s awesome she can run that far.”
Yes. It’s awesome. Today I embrace the awesome – my relatives that are safe, those people that can run 26 plus miles (wow), those that ran toward the danger to help out the injured, those that gave blood, the doctors, nurses, cops, FBI, that have been working around-the-clock since this occurred. And my child, who in the light of horrific tragedy, still wants to know who won the race and whether he can try on the medal. Innocence tarnished, but not lost.
Wishing all my friends a gentle day.
4 comments:
Speechless ... how someone(s)could do such a thing. So, happy that your family is all OK. Children are amazing, they have a strength only children can (innocence). Praying for those how were affected by such horrible acts. Blessings, C. (HHL)
What an excellent, well considered response to your son's question. But that is not a surprise....
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