I was planning on a “1st Christmas at Preston Place” post this weekend – filled with pictures of presents, lights, and cookies; however, the heart wrenching events at Sandy Hook Elementary School have lead me to post a bit more somberly this afternoon. It, clearly, has hit WAY too close to home, and I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster this weekend as the story has begun to horrifically unfold.
When I initially heard that there had been a shooting, (I don’t have much time away from my 27 kiddos during the workday to have had the chance to read ANYTHING about it, but I did read an email during the school day from our Superintendent regarding the events in CT) I immediately (internally) reacted with such anger. What in the world is wrong with this world of ours that this type of CATASTROPHIC event happens over and over, year after year?!
But after getting home from an exhausting week with my 2nd graders and sitting down in front of CNN (which is where I stayed for most of the weekend), my anger immediately turned into heartache as I heard one grave detail after another of how these poor babies and their brave teachers lost their lives. It was Friday night, and I was wishing for Monday morning – to hug and love and be with my sweet, sweet 2nd graders, to sing them an extra song, to juggle for them an extra time or 2, and to listen to every thing that they had to say. I adore my kids. Every single year, I adore my kids. When I coached, I couldn’t wait to get back to having a class of “my kids”.
It also made me think – what would I have done? Would I have KNOWN what to do? How would I have reacted? Would I have panicked? Fortunately, just as you heard many of the teachers say this weekend, “We practice this”, too. We’ve had a crisis drill, we know our evacuation plans, we know our “safe spot” in the classroom. Yet, if we needed to go to our safe spot in the classroom with background noise of gunshots? That – you can’t practice for. That’s the moment that each and every teacher and faculty member at Sandy Hook went into Mama Bear mode and did BEYOND everything that they could have possibly done to protect their sweet babies.
After reading and listening to their heroic tales this weekend, I have never been more proud to be a teacher. I have never been more proud to be in charge of 27 7-year olds’ lives, as moms and dads share their children with me each and every day, each and every school year.
My heart is so heavy for the community of Sandy Hook Elementary School – the victims, the survivors, the friends, the parents, and the siblings of all involved.
Praying for peace, strength, healing, and comfort to Newtown, Connecticut as they find their way to the path of healing and recovery.
God bless them all<3
