Just as I haven’t written too much about grieving over the last six months (opting instead to keep it light and share mostly happy photos and stories) I also haven’t addressed other things happening in the world. It feels strange and wrong, though, to not talk about Pittsburgh.

I don’t have to elaborate on how horrific and tragic the event was, because I know anyone reading this understands and agrees. But what happened feels so very personal – not only because it was an act of hatred towards a community that we belong to and a reminder that people out there despise my children and other loved ones for absolutely no reason, but because I can’t help but think about the family members of those who were killed. My parents weren’t brutally murdered, and my sister and I weren’t ambushed with media stories about what happened, but I do know how it feels to lose someone suddenly and randomly. (“Life can change with a blink of the eye,” my dad used to tell us – and how right he was.) And it has made my personal grief and heartache that much more potent these past few days.

As for the girls, I’ve long believed in protecting them from life’s cruelties (without, of course, keeping them in a bubble) – and we have a pretty good understanding of what kinds of information each one can handle. In Avery’s case, I told her a bad person did something very bad to people in a synagogue, and our community was collectively mourning. Zoe, meanwhile, heard more of what happened - a Shabbat service, a man with a gun, many deaths – but wasn’t told much more in terms of motives or details (though, knowing Zoe, she was able to fill in the blanks).

At the girls’ school, the 3rd-5th graders will be singing prayers for healing and peace during their weekly prayer service on Thursday, and the middle schoolers had a special assembly to mark the event and honor the victims on Monday morning. The parents were sent the slides that the children saw, and I found this particular part beautiful, and comforting:

Gesher Tsar Me-od

The whole world

is a very narrow bridge.

And the most important part

is not to be afraid.

-M

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2018 at 12:47 pm and is filed under 99. Two kids - Jan-Dec 18. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.