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4.16.2007

The unthinkable

There are many things from the weekend that I want to post to help me remember later how Kylie continues to grow up a little each day. But for today they are going to have to wait as Ian and I try to make sense of what happened today at VT.

Maybe it is because my husband spent hours in engineering buildings in his days at VT, maybe it is because I've grown to love the campus as much as he, maybe it's because we're parents now, (or maybe it is a combination of the three) but we are both deeply disturbed at the news that has been coming out of sleepy little Blacksburg today.

Tonight there are over 30 mothers who I'm sure are remembering the precious moments they had with their children. So as I rocked Kylie to sleep tonight (yes, I took an extra long time and stayed at her side watching her sleep long after she dozed off into peaceful slumber) I tried to concentrate on the sweetness of her Johnson's baby lotion smell, on how soft her cheeks felt as I stroked them, on just how much heavier her 23 pounds felt as she relaxed and drifted off, on how her little legs hang off the edge of the rocking chair a bit more now than they did two months ago (exactly two months today) when we got home from China. Yes, I tried to study it all because I know that I'll blink my eyes and suddenly she'll be leaving home to go to school in a world where I can't protect her as much as I can now.

And my heart honestly breaks for those mothers who I'm sure tonight are closing their eyes and thinking about happier times. Let's pray for them and the other family members & friends dealing with the loss of children, siblings, cousins, nieces/nephews, grandchildren, boy/girl friends, best friends... Let's pray for those injured in the terror. Let's pray for those who will be deeply effected by what they witnessed, either in person or through the media.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was/am feeling the same emotions. It's amazing how becoming a parent changes your perspective on everything. The first people I thought of were the parents of these college kids. I couldn't imagine...

Anonymous said...

What a weight on our entire country at the brutal murder of so many wonderful people at VA Tech. I kept thinking of Ian and his friends and acquaintances still on campus; the families of those killed and of the family of the murderer. Made me want to get my four children (yes, I think of my sons-in-law as my boys!) and my precious grandbaby together and just hold them and know they were OK. May God comfort all of the 1000's affected by this horrible crime.
LaoLao