Never Again.  Starting Now.

Why the F are there not mandatory underground shelters in homes and schools in tornado alley??!!  Yes, I know - the cost.  F the cost.  Yes, that’s what I said.  F it!  I’m angry, I’m sickened, and I’m devastated for the poor families that are suffering right now.  What makes me the most angry, is that I believe that the majority of the deaths could have been prevented.  There was warning.  There was time. Children were taken to their “safe” place – an interior hallway.  Seriously?  An interior hallway? 

While there are so many tragedies in this world that we cannot prevent, our society certainly has the intelligence, the technology and yes, the money, to prevent so many of them. And, yet we refuse to address the most important issues, mainly the health and safety of our people, and especially our children. I’m talking about everything from natural disasters to gun violence to health care. We choose instead to focus on political nonsense and who’s having affairs and sexting, etc. It makes me want to Scream (or alternately curl up in fetal position and disappear). God’s greatest gift to us is each other, and in particular, our children. Why are we, as a people and a country, not respecting and protecting and appreciating that Gift every day? 

On a personal level, we do not nourish our relationships as we should – spouses, children, parents, siblings and friends.  We take each other for granted. On a national level, we are not protecting our citizens from gun violence and terrorism. We are not making sure that things like child care, health care, including mental health care and medicine are available for everyone.  There are people starving in our own country and around the world – something that should be basic and solvable, should be a done deal.

 

I know I have been personally guilty of taking my life and my relationships for granted.  I’m sure I’m not alone in that realization, if we are all honest with ourselves.  But, I’ve learned that sometimes it takes almost losing it all, to appreciate what you have.  What is it going to take for us, as a nation, or just as human beings, to wake up and realize what a precious and amazing Gift this life is, and stop wasting our time here on things that just don’t matter? 

How would life be different if we were always aware of the fact that at any given moment we could lose someone we love?

While it seems that I don’t have the answers, just more questions, I will start here by sending a Big Thank You to my husband who, when these tragedies occur (and there have been way too many of them of late) has, unfortunately, the added burden of dealing with a weepy and emotional wife and an anxious son. My husband very adeptly navigates how much exposure both my son and I have to the constant, saturating influx of the devastation, and I appreciate that So Much.

So my promise (to myself) starts here:

1.  Never take my relationships for granted - Never Again.

2.  Be a better, more involved citizen - Starting Now.