Thankful and Blessed

I kept my babies extra close this weekend, after the tragedy in Newtown, CT. We took them to McDonald's for dinner on Friday, and I slept with Sophie while Wesley slept with Vic.  I'm sure this event has shaken every parent to their core, since this was one of the safest places to raise children, and no one could have predicted such a horrific event. My heart goes out to the parents who lost little ones and those who will comfort the survivors. I am amazed at the heroic behavior displayed by the staff at the school, and it was clear that they did what they could to protect these babies.  Because that's what they were. Just little babies. The silver lining (and it's nearly impossible to find one) is that this event brought us all closer and reminded us how lucky we are to have one another.

This weekend I scheduled a Santa train ride for the kids.  I wish I had known before the ride how averse they would all be to meeting Ol' St. Nick. I knew Sophie would be clamoring for the exits, but I didn't anticipate Trevor closing up the hood of his jacket and pretending to be asleep while Victoria was begging to sit away from the aisle when the jolly fat man entered our car. When he approached, Sophie flung herself across my lap toward the window. Trevor and Victoria were concerned enough that their Christmas presents were on the line that they overcame their shyness long enough to make sure Santa knew what to bring them. I won't even discuss the podunkness of this operation, which at one point took us through the backside of a trailer park.  Overall, it was a cute idea, and the kids got to ride on a real train.

Then it was time for Trev's friend's birthday party.  He had it at a skating rink, so we decided to take the girls as well.  It was the 2nd time the big kids have gone skating and the first for Sophie, so it was an amazing feat that we escaped with no broken bones.  Sophie had a blast and apparently is a little daredevil as she repeatedly tried to skate across the rink instead of around it and kept trying to jump in her skates.  They were exhausted by the time we got home.

The entire weekend I was consumed with thoughts about the families in CT that did not get to wake up next to beautiful sleeping faces.  There is nothing to be said to rationalize an event like this.  There is no "everything happens for a reason" mentality to be had here.  All we can do is hold each other a little closer, love each other a little more, and cherish the time we have together, because regardless of when it's over, it's never long enough.