“Mama, if I ever get shot, will you hold my hand so I am not alone when I die?” Henry, age 5.
I did not realize it would be less than a month since I originally posted this story (Jan 28th, 2018) that I would be re-visiting it again so very soon. Yet, here it is. Again.
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“Mama, if I ever get shot, will you hold my hand so I am not alone when I die?” Henry, age 5.
Not really the conversation I expected as we were resting today on our nature walk. We have had a few conversations about death. None of them have been easy. From why the bug didn’t move after George stepped on it to how chicken nuggets are made. And then the heavy conversations after losing so many in the Pulse shooting.
I could feel my throat constrict and the tears well in my eyes when I couldn’t stop the image of this scenario from finding shape in my head.
I know that they have regular safety drills at school, as most schools do, nowadays, and with the recent school shooting on Kentucky, well, little rabbits have big ears.
I heard a statistic recently that talked about how children are more like to die in a school shooting than a school fire. My heart aches that our children live with this reality and my only answer is to nod and say, “if it is at all possible, I will.”
For today, that was all that was wanted. But I know we will be visiting this topic again soon. And I will continue to support the activism of those who walk in that pain already.
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And today, as we grieve again for the loss in Florida, we grieve again for the likelihood of yet another tragedy in the near future for all of our children. If you need more tips or hints about how to talk to your children about the recent shootings, here is one that I have found particularly helpful.
#NoMoreSilence #heartbroken #difficultconversations #4fiveandunder #toddlerlogic