And they meet

Merry Christmas!

Love, Adeleigh & Kris Kringle

Let's go do something really good

The night of the Newtown tragedy, our family went out to eat. As we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, Adeleigh approached a young boy, smiled and waved at him. He looked up at me and smiled, "She's really nice."
"Thank you. You're really nice too."
"Thanks.........So, my mom was just telling me about the school shooting that happened today."
"Yeah. That's really sad, isn't it."
"Yeah......She also told me about Mitzvahs."
"Oh? What's a Mitzvah?"
"It's a Jewish thing. It's when something awful happens and then you go out and do something really good for the world."


Good idea.

Shouldn't

I can't bring myself to do it - to watch the news. Normally, in times of tragedy, my eyes are glued to the TV, waiting to hear the latest updates.
But, this time.....is different.
When I first learned about the Connecticut tragedy, my heart (physically) hurt. I hung up the phone, put on my coat, left work and called daycare.
"I know she's just fine, Breena. But I just heard about the news and I need you to tell me, 'she's just fine'."
I ended my voicemail and sat in silence in the car until she called me back.

I see the list of victim's names. I see photos and posts about those who were lost. More than anything else, I see the articles and posts about gun laws....
I can't hear about this and help but think that clearly, something is corrupt. We shouldn't have to fear going about our daily lives. We shouldn't have to fear allowing our children to go about theirs. We shouldn't have to feel like our best and safest defense is arming ourselves with (and against) the very thing that we fear.
We shouldn't have to fear one another.

Yet, so many of us do. And yet, tragedies like this keep happening. And the unthinkable just keeps getting more and more.....real.

My heart hurts for those families. My heart hurts for those living with the memories, with that fear, with that sadness. And more than anything else, my heart hurts that too many more parents don't get to snuggle extra close to their little ones tonight.

Someone

This week,

I was reminded of how much I dislike ironing.
I learned that I do deserve to buy myself a new scarf this winter.
I learned that my daughter likes to floss her teeth more than she likes to brush them.
I was introduced to gluten free pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
I gained 5 pounds.
I learned that Adeleigh is capable of staying at our table while we're out to dinner.
I discovered that there is a sippy cup that doesn't leak.
And this week,
I learned how fragile life can be. And that someone, or some few, really are watching over us.

I'm hugging my husband extra close these days.