Yesterday Morning

No talk of baseball or sports cards today. This post is personal, an avenue to process an all too scary reminder that life is precious, and gratefulness needs to be practiced on a daily basis...

 

This made national news. Maybe you caught a glimpse of this on the news or in your social media feeds:

 

 

That elementary school is where my two youngest daughters attend.  This was my Wednesday morning, and the fear and helplessness that I felt for hours I would not wish on anyone.

 

Let's get the facts and important stuff out of the way first: All the kids are safe, with just one staff member receiving superficial wounds. A staff member spotted the guy with a gun outside the school, and lockdown procedures were in effect before he was able to force he way in by shooting out a glass door. Police were on scene within 3 minutes of the initial 911 call. The shooter offed himself in the school library. 

As far as my kids go, they are fine. They didn't see/hear any of the major stuff. (Although my sister-in-law, who teaches at that school, was the closest classroom to where he gained entry, and not only heard him break in, but he jiggled the handle to her locked classroom as well before moving on. Scary stuff!) My kids understand something serious was going on, knew the lockdown was not a drill, but thankfully have been spared the trauma of what happened and what could have happened. They were more upset by the fact they had to leave their backpacks at school then anything. I'm grateful for that. 

My wife and I are also fine. The shock of it all is starting to wear off, and I hope in the days and weeks ahead  we'll have more answers. That's the worst of it. The lack of answers or any confirmed information.  My day started off normally with me dropping both girls off at school. Normal day as always. About an hour and a half later I get to work, and before I can even get settled in, my wife calls. She's scared, and tells me that her dad told her about a guy with a gun at the school. (He had been called by my brother-in-law, who was called by his wife the teacher. That's how I find out - fifth hand!) By now it's also all over Facebook, so she leaves works and heads over. I also leave work, but I'm 2 towns over and have an 11 mile drive with just me and my thoughts, most of it in prayer. I park a block away from the school and catch up with my wife. 

I heard through the grape vine that all the kids and staff are accounted for, and that they are bussing them to a nearby church where we should go for "reunification". (I swear I never want to hear that word again. I heard it so much that day and it's such a cold and sterile word like a doctor telling you you need a "procedure").  Anyway, my wife and I waited for a bit. She wanted to see one of the busses leave before we made our way. When we got to the church it was chaotic. There's not enough parking to accommodate a school full of parental vehicles. We found a spot and was directed to the church's fellowship hall. We were given forms to fill out for each child, and from there we waited. That was a miserable experience in it's own right. The room was packed with hundreds of anxious, stressed out parents...and no A/C. No one had any concrete information on what exactly happened, and every bit of hearsay was eventually met with some contradicting bit of hearsay. Eventually school staff started bringing out kids one at a time, which despite the circumstances went relatively smoothly. Just before 11am, my wife and I were reunited with our daughters.

Neither my wife and I went back to work, and spent the rest of the day trying to cull what info we could, checking in with concerned family and friends, and thanking God for the safety of our kids and all involved. This was every parent's nightmare, and one I never would have thought might happen at this school. For those with kids, give them an extra hug today. For those who work in a school system, I pray you never have to find out first hand, but know that whatever procedures and plans your school has in place for such emergencies may not be perfect, but will be effective. I have no doubt the actions of the teachers and staff at that school kept this from being even more tragic, and did their best to keep the kids calm and safe.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading. God bless.