reality

i was on campus this afternoon, going about preparing for the following day. i was distracted from my work by what sounded like gunshots. assuming that i was letting my worry-prone mind run away with me, i continued about my work, only to be interrupted minutes later by my principal asking all staff still on campus to lock their doors and stay inside until further notice. yikes!

so i worried.

and peeked out my window.

and worried some more.

about 30 minutes later, my principal again came on the intercom and announced that school was shutting down and all people on campus would need to leave within 15 minutes. so i grabbed my stuff and quickly made my way to my car.

now safely home, i just received an e-mail that there were indeed gunshots in an apartment complex on a street directly behind the campus. many students in our school (some kiddos in my own class) live in these apartments. there is an after-school homework program held in this apartment complex.

even thought i am 100%, absolutely fine, i am still shaken. not because i was in any danger (which i definitely was not), but because this is the reality of my little kiddos. they are only six or seven. and they have to be exposed to the stupid issues of the 'adults' in their community. my heart just breaks that this is what they see; that this could be what they know when they are adults. beyond teaching them how to read, write, add and subtract, i feel an ever greater responsibilty to expose them to lives outside what they may currently know. to talk about going to college. to encourage them to be doctors, police officers, teachers, presidents, fire fighters...whatever they imagine. to provide models/tools for how to interact peacefully. they need this. and if they don't get it at school, then where? if not from me, then who?

if you can, please keep my kiddos (and all the kiddos at my school) in your thoughts and prayers. information is currently limited, so i'm not sure if any one from our school was directly affected or witnessed anything. but i know that some must have heard it. okay...i'm done worrying (for now, at least). now it's time to get my butt in gear and be the things that these kiddos need. :)