Like everyone else the last few days some part of my brain has been focused on the tragedy in Las Vegas.
As I was listening to a news broadcast yesterday. One of the people talking said that the feeling of being safe in your world has been taken away. That for his children they no longer felt safe. My kids have not grown up with the feeling of safety other kids do. Most kids grow up believing that bad things don’t happen. Tragedy and sadness and hurt is something that belongs to other people.
Not my kids. They know bad things happen. They know that kids are hurt everyday. They know that people die everyday. Now let me be clear my kids live a very protected and sheltered life in most ways. They have a safe place to live and they know we will do everything to protect them. They don’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from or if they will have a place to sleep tonight.
However, my husband is a police officer and a SWAT team member. They know bad things happen. They know that when those bad things happen their daddy will go running into the fray to protect everyone he can. They know that this world is not safe. Sometimes I feel bad for them because they have not grown up with a feeling of safety that most people take for granted.
But in other ways I am so grateful for the lives they lead. I am grateful that they know what a true hero is. They don’t care what sports players, actors or politicians do or don’t do because those aren’t their heroes. They know police officers, EMTs, paramedics and firefighters. They know soldiers current and veterans. They know teachers that give everything to help them succeed. They know that even when scary things happen there are people that will stand up for what is right. Those people will stand up and save those that they can, often with their last breath.
Bad things happen and it hurts. But good things and good people are all around us. They are their standing up and helping each other. They are their standing up and saving each other. They are there standing up and fighting to make this world safe, to make this world fair. They are there standing up and doing all they can to take care of each other.
I choose to stand.
