Friday, October 10, 2025
I worked with someone today I really enjoy working with and consider a friend. We don’t socialize outside of work, but I guess that is just from lack of effort.
Her grandsons go to Annunciation school and were present in the church when a gunman opened fire seven weeks ago, killing two children and physically injuring many. Her grandsons (4th and 6th grade) were not hurt physically but are certainly still suffering emotional and mental anguish.
I don’t know what to think about myself in that I never thought about the people who survive a mass shooting before. It is probably because I can hardly think about these events at all they are so deeply disturbing. I never assumed anyone not physically injured was just fine – I never thought about them at all.
I certainly have been thinking about them since I found I had a connection to some of them. My friend confirmed that it is super hard for the boys. The parents have no roadmap for this. Every day is different -some better, then some worse – and everything is new. A dropped trashcan lid can cause the boys to hurtle under furniture. I assume this will be the defining event of their lives.
These parents and grandparents seem to be doing a pretty great job prioritizing their boys. The extended family spent the first night in the basement – that bastion of safety from tornados – trying to grab some sort of equilibrium. That just keeps running through my mind – if we hide in the basement, we can be safe. I wish. I am glad the boys feel safe there.
My picture of the day is in gratitude to all the families that donate the supplies they are asked for in the fall. The quantity of it looks amazing to me – but I see how much of this stuff we go through and thank all the people making it possible for us to keep things clean.
We went to see Crime and Punishment as a play tonight. It was three hours long and went along pretty quickly. Again, the players were terrific. I did not know the story and found myself really thinking about what the characters were going through. I was fascinated by the thought that people (at least those in books) used to get together and talk about philosophy and the future and the greater good. I think people now get together and seek pleasure – at best they may talk about how to monetize something in order to more easily seek pleasure. A big famous book that I have never read has me thinking. Maybe that is why it is a big famous book.
We read Crime and Punishment in my high school senior English class of twentieth-century novels. Seeing the play as you connected with Annunciation survivors must have been an overwhelming and thought-provoking experience. I remain puzzled that we cannot share a vision for reducing violence in our society. One would think that dream could unite us.
And, on a very different note, I’m glad to see so many Kleenex boxes among the collected supplies. The shared kleenex box in my classroom was always highly valued and in much demand.
I’m seeing a sad connection between our not being able to unite to keep us all safe and not agreeing to fund schools to a level that would let them pay for basic paper goods. On the other hand, I’m inspired that people keep teaching, donating, and trying to solve our seemingly intractable problems. Thanks to the POTD blog for thoughtful conversations as well as so much fun.