Life is worth living

As a former kindergarten teacher, I spent many days loving students as if they were my own children.  And in fact, I thought of them as mine.  For 6 hours a day, they were.  I was responsible for their education, social interaction and safety during those hours each day.  99.9% of teachers at any level will tell you they feel the same way about their students.

Once I even went through a Lock-Down where there was an intruder on campus and all teachers locked our doors, turned off our lights and kept our children safely away from doors and windows, etc until the all-safe sign was given.  In our case, it was a precautionary action that was over within 15 minutes, but the fear and anxiety were very real.

With that said, I know that my experiences cannot begin to relate to what the teachers and students of CT suffered through on Friday, and I have to admit that while heartbroken for them, I am thankful to have never lived through their pain.  It is with a heavy heart that I even think about what happened on Friday.  I have watched no news coverage of it and only heard what friends and family have told me.  I have no desire to know more because I only see the faces of my former students mingled with the faces of my own two children and that is too much for my heart to bear.

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I typically choose to live life knowing that tomorrow is never promised and that yesterday is already done.  Regrets and wishing for tomorrow will only hamper today.  Holding on to the past, both good and bad, will only cloud the joy we could have right now.  Waiting for the future to bring us better times will only make us miss out on the small joys we could find today.  Yes, we all have bad days in life, and sometimes those bad days are weeks, months, years for some of us, but each day we choose how we view our life, our world and  each other.  I am far from perfect, believe me--I know it only too well, but I know that I am in charge of how I feel and how I treat others each day.

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I pray that while the community of Newtown heals, the rest of us will look into our own hearts, our own lives, and strive to become better each day.  May we look on others with love in our hearts.  May we find ways to serve our God by serving others each day.  May we forgive ourselves of our past mistakes as we forgive others for theirs.  I pray that we can become the people we all hope to be and hopefully, in that change make this world a better place to live.

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I know that there are many people organizing ways to help those in Newtown right now with pillowcase drives, quilt donations, etc.  And I applaud their efforts and encourage you to share if you are inclined.  But as you're giving to these poor families that will never again be the same, don't forget about those in your own community who could use some extra love too.  With this being the holiday season, there are plenty who could use a meal, a few presents for their children, a hug, even a card.  Sometimes we may not know that someone is hurting but a smile and hello may make all the difference in their day.

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I'll leave you with Oren's class motto from last year which just happens to be a bible verse, but is applicable whatever your beliefs:

  Be ye kind, one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another.
Ephesians 4:32a

And I'll tell you that hearing 18 kindergartners reciting that together every day is enough to give you hope.  Let's make that hope a reality.