And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
Ecclesiastes 3:4
I cannot imagine the horror that 20 sets of parents are experiencing. To send your child off to school and then hear of the nightmare that occurred. Then, rush off to the school to make sure your child is OK, only to see a line of kids that doesn't include yours. My heart, and my prayers, go out to them.
My prayers also go out to the first responders. Police, EMS and Fire personnel who responded must also deal with this tragedy. What they ran into is going to have long term effects on them. The nightmares will come, that we know. My hope is that their respective departments go above and beyond in addressing what those on scene today need to move forward.
There is a rush to judgement over an incident less than 12 hours old. Right now is a time for anger, mourning and grief. This is not a time to blame. This is a time for us process what has happened, and to allow the authorities in Connecticut to do their jobs and gather, then disseminate information. We, the collective we of the public, must refrain from blaming the NRA, politicians, etc. We know there was a terrible event at the Sandy Hook School. What we need to know next is what led up to this. We must allow the professionals to gather information and evidence. We must refrain from arm chair quarterbacking and simply wait for the entire story to be told. It is senseless to engage in arguments over gun control, death penalty and the like until we know more.
Now is a time to hug your loved ones. We don't know what the future holds. If we did, one or more of us would have the winning Powerball numbers. We don't know what is ahead of us. Celebrate the now.