B. and I really don't watch TV, with the exception of sports and the Today show, while the kids are awake. However, we recently put a TV up in the bathroom so that we could watch while we get ready in the morning. B. watches the weather and traffic at 5:25 in the morning, and I let Matt Lauer tell me what is going on in the world. It's on for an average of 10-15 minutes before rushing around to dress kids and feed breakfast before heading out the door at 7:15.
On February 27, a sad teenager killed 3 people and hurt 2 others in small town Ohio. Of course, the nation was talking about it and good ole Matt Lauer was no exception. His report, in summary between my hair dryer and kids talking, was focusing on kids having guns in school and how dangerous school can be. In my haste, I didn't notice that A. was taking all of this in. 15 minutes later, on our ride to school, A. pops up with, "What is a gun?"
and...
Another little piece of innocence was gone!
my response (well not my exact words since I don't remember them)
"It's something that a very sad and mad boy used to hurt other people. Instead of talking to an adult like he should have, he decided to hurt other people to tell them that he was angry."
A: did he punch them, or pull their hair?
me: no, he used the gun, (I guess a picture would have helped). Its something that a person points and then it a bullet comes out and can hurt or kill.
A: Megan E. (her sometimes friend, sometimes enemy at school) pointed at me one time but it didn't hurt.
me: (thinking, well this is not going in the right direction) Megan E. didn't use a gun, only her fingers. This boy made a really bad decision and used a gun to hurt others. How about we pray for them and their families so that they start to feel better.
So we did. And we have now every day in the car because it's obviously something she's still working through and my fearful little one asks about it each day on the way to school. Now, my 3.5 year old knows about guns, and not by way of hunting like I'm sure her southwest PA grandfather would have preferred. She knows about school shootings and a little piece of my heart hurts. And, a little piece of my morning is missing since I can't even watch the Today show without worrying what my little sponge will pickup.
On a rainy Sunday I had some time to read your blogs. Kati and I are getting ready for Lily to go to pre school. I read Kati what you had written about the mean girl and neither of us want to let her go to school.
ReplyDeleteNow I read about the gun and innocence lost and it scares me. It saddens me that your little girl is only 3 and she knows about stuff like that. The world is moving in a terrible direction.
The school shootings in Chardon Ohio is not far from my parents home and my brother and his wife work in Chardon. I actually went to High School with Frank Hall, the teacher that rushed the shooter out of the school.
I wish I could keep both of my kids innocent and young. I hate the fact that Lily is going to school in less than a year...
On a rainy Sunday I had some time to read your blogs. Kati and I are getting ready for Lily to go to pre school. I read Kati what you had written about the mean girl and neither of us want to let her go to school.
ReplyDeleteNow I read about the gun and innocence lost and it scares me. It saddens me that your little girl is only 3 and she knows about stuff like that. The world is moving in a terrible direction.
The school shootings in Chardon Ohio is not far from my parents home and my brother and his wife work in Chardon. I actually went to High School with Frank Hall, the teacher that rushed the shooter out of the school.
I wish I could keep both of my kids innocent and young. I hate the fact that Lily is going to school in less than a year...
On a rainy Sunday I had some time to read your blogs. Kati and I are getting ready for Lily to go to pre school. I read Kati what you had written about the mean girl and neither of us want to let her go to school.
ReplyDeleteNow I read about the gun and innocence lost and it scares me. It saddens me that your little girl is only 3 and she knows about stuff like that. The world is moving in a terrible direction.
The school shootings in Chardon Ohio is not far from my parents home and my brother and his wife work in Chardon. I actually went to High School with Frank Hall, the teacher that rushed the shooter out of the school.
I wish I could keep both of my kids innocent and young. I hate the fact that Lily is going to school in less than a year...