#SOL16 4 Years Later

It is Wednesday, not Tuesday, but here I am anyway.

 I was supposed to write this post for Slice of Life Tuesday. I almost never miss a Tuesday- have made this commitment, and honestly miss writing when I don't do it. 

 I could not find any time Monday to write my Slice, as is my custom. Report card time had me feeling buried at work and trying to dig out, get on top of the to do's. Tuesday morning came with an earlier than usual drive to work as I had to bring my daughter to my mother in laws for the day, since my mother has been not feeling well. By the time I got back home with Megan, it was nearing 5 o'clock. Alex had homework, there was dinner to make and then an exhaustion just hit me. Going up to bed early, I awoke a couple of hours later with my throat on fire, my ears aching, and stayed awake the rest of the night.

Diagnosis: Strep throat. 

 So here I am, on a Wednesday afternoon. 

 Today is the 4th anniversary of the horrific shootings at Sandy Hook. I see those beautiful little faces, on boats, in front of Christmas trees, hugging siblings, so full of life. The brave and beautiful educators smile with family members, with pets, in snow, at the beach. I think of them all so often. Every time we have a lockdown drill, I remember that evil can happen. At night, when the worries sneak in before sleep, I try to wrap my head around how those families have been able to keep living and breathing. When I walked my son to school today, in his Christmas pajamas for Pajama Day, and his fingers wiggled a little goodbye as he raced into a place he feels safe and secure, I thought about how many children in Sandy Hook did the same thing four years ago? 

 4 years. No real answers. No major changes in legislation. No closer to guarantees that this could never happen again. 

 Today I remember the educators and students, and the only answer ever seems to be love. So, in their memory, I will be more loving today, more grateful, more forgiving, more accepting, more patient.  And I send my prayers to them, to their brave families, and to a country that needs to find the courage to say, "No more." 

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