A Tragic Day

I feel compelled to add my small voice to the millions of voices that are expressing heart-felt sorrow for the victims and their families in Uvalde Texas. As a native Texan, once again, a mass shooting hits close to home. Once again. Seems like we trod this road so often now. 

I want to offer, as so many have, my love and my prayers to the victims and their families.

There are a lot of initial emotions I am feeling about this and a few that will last a very long time because you see, I am not just a resident of this state but I have raised six children here as well. That is six children who have, since they were in kindergarten, have attended public schools here in San Antonio. 

For about twenty one years now we have been dropping our kids off with a hug and a kiss and the words  “I love you, go do amazing things”.  We have watched them go do such amazing things but as parents there was always the shadow of dread that would gnaw at our minds. 

Since The Columbine shooting on April 20, 1999 there has been an escalating fear for parents who send their kids to school. Parents like us, here in America, rarely get a chance to drop our kids off at school and not wonder if today would be the day, if our kid’s school would be the school and if our kids would be the ones that would not come home because of the insane acts of a mass shooter. As a husband of a school teacher my fears for her safety were on my mind as well. Its always there in the back of your minds and on an increasing number of days its right there, at the front of your thoughts. 

Every

        single

      day

                       for 26 years now

The actor Matthew McConaughey posted today:

…”What is it we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state, and neighborhood tomorrow?”

Indeed, what indeed can we do? We must do something! I totally agree that we need to take a good hard look in the mirror and ask ourselves some profoundly deep questions. 

But for today, today let's just ask who we can love more. How we can love more. 

As a father, husband, veteran, Texan and American I have my thoughts on what things can be done. But now is not the time to share that. Now is a time for pouring as much love into our families and communities as possible. 

We can only combat the darkness and pain with love. It may sound trivial but one thing I know for sure is that the less you love the more trivial it sounds.