For the past two weeks I have been waking up uneasy. Like something bad is going to happen. I know, it's probably anxiety. I think this uneasiness might be coming from my dreams, which are usually vivid on nightmarish. My nightmares aren't usually prophetic, so I'm not sure where to put all of this anxious feeling.
The horrifying account of a massacre in Las Vegas did not help. Why on earth would a 60-year-old man shoot into a crowd of people? People he didn't know? My answer for these kinds of questions is always this: "There is something mentally wrong with that person."
And there is. Don't you think? Who does stuff like this? My heart sinks with despair at the idea that people like this exist in the world. My chest aches with it. Clearly, this man was in need of help. No one knew, no one could tell. Instead, 59 people were killed in Las Vegas this past Sunday night, one of them a police officer who was trying to help.
My dilemma is that sometimes this view of the world gets me down. I start seeing other things I don't like. Kids bullying each other. Women judging other women. Men using hurtful words against each other. Young women sending provocative images of themselves to who-knows-where with their phones. Young men fighting over trivial matters. Poverty. Cancer.
What is the point?
But here is my favorite post from this week:
I don't care what your opinion of Mr. Rogers might be. This idea is brilliant. There will be some days when it's so easy to say, "Life is horrible." You will see all the bad and not much good, because sometimes, you need to look for it. Good is hard to find. It's not as noticeable. Hard things are apparently a way of life. At least, my life.
The hardest thing for me is discussing this stuff with my kids. But I have to, because not two days after the Las Vegas shooting, I received a call from my son's high school saying that the school had received threats, was under lock-down, and that we would be updated as more information became available. This wasn't the first time this had happened. Twice last year we received similar messages. Some days my heart can't take it. When I'm in the middle of a crowded commons on campus and I'm listening to a voice on my cell phone telling me my son might be in danger, my heart stops and the noise stops and the world stops. But he wasn't. And life goes on.
So I teach my kids to do what Mr. Rogers did. There are helpers. There were people that sacrificed their lives protecting others. We have to go through these things because it teaches us to love each other, to be kind, and to help. After the hurricanes, we pointed out the same things. And while I don't like to shout about donating to things, my husband and I did talk about donating money to the victims of the hurricanes in front of our kids, because we want them to hear it. We want them to know there are things they can do.
Keep looking for the good. Don't give up, because the world needs you. It needs moms who are willing to help, willing to teach, and willing to keep going. Life may not go as we would like it too, but we adjust. You are strong, and I'll stand with you when you need me to.
The horrifying account of a massacre in Las Vegas did not help. Why on earth would a 60-year-old man shoot into a crowd of people? People he didn't know? My answer for these kinds of questions is always this: "There is something mentally wrong with that person."
 |
| Courtesy KSL.com |
And there is. Don't you think? Who does stuff like this? My heart sinks with despair at the idea that people like this exist in the world. My chest aches with it. Clearly, this man was in need of help. No one knew, no one could tell. Instead, 59 people were killed in Las Vegas this past Sunday night, one of them a police officer who was trying to help.
My dilemma is that sometimes this view of the world gets me down. I start seeing other things I don't like. Kids bullying each other. Women judging other women. Men using hurtful words against each other. Young women sending provocative images of themselves to who-knows-where with their phones. Young men fighting over trivial matters. Poverty. Cancer.
What is the point?
But here is my favorite post from this week:
 |
| Courtesy Huffington Post |
I don't care what your opinion of Mr. Rogers might be. This idea is brilliant. There will be some days when it's so easy to say, "Life is horrible." You will see all the bad and not much good, because sometimes, you need to look for it. Good is hard to find. It's not as noticeable. Hard things are apparently a way of life. At least, my life.
The hardest thing for me is discussing this stuff with my kids. But I have to, because not two days after the Las Vegas shooting, I received a call from my son's high school saying that the school had received threats, was under lock-down, and that we would be updated as more information became available. This wasn't the first time this had happened. Twice last year we received similar messages. Some days my heart can't take it. When I'm in the middle of a crowded commons on campus and I'm listening to a voice on my cell phone telling me my son might be in danger, my heart stops and the noise stops and the world stops. But he wasn't. And life goes on.
 |
| http://council.providenceri.com/gallery/community-build-day-cabral-park/kids-helping-out-527 |
So I teach my kids to do what Mr. Rogers did. There are helpers. There were people that sacrificed their lives protecting others. We have to go through these things because it teaches us to love each other, to be kind, and to help. After the hurricanes, we pointed out the same things. And while I don't like to shout about donating to things, my husband and I did talk about donating money to the victims of the hurricanes in front of our kids, because we want them to hear it. We want them to know there are things they can do.
Keep looking for the good. Don't give up, because the world needs you. It needs moms who are willing to help, willing to teach, and willing to keep going. Life may not go as we would like it too, but we adjust. You are strong, and I'll stand with you when you need me to.
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