What will I do?

This is the question I’ve been asking myself all afternoon. “What will I do?”

Good people everywhere agree that the shooting today was tragic, evil, and unnecessary violence toward a human being.

And… so what will I do?

Honestly, mostly I’ve been tempted to hide. To ditch social media, to bury my head, to snuggle in blankets and wait for it to pass. I know it won’t. It’s tempting to try.

In these times of tragedy and heartbreak, what will I do? Many have said that this is discouraging to those who would speak up and speak out- making them fearful for their safety. And that makes sense.

I also want to know how to raise someone who would never do this sort of violent act. I am sure that most parents do not raise their children to be killers. And from all appearances, this shooter was not a child, but an adult man. We cannot know his motivations, not yet.

But I hope I can raise my child to never feel so dark, so alone, so angry, that she feels her only recourse is to take a life. I worry that this is the world- violence when others don’t listen is an easy answer and may even feel good in the moment. But it is unarguably wrong. I want to raise my daughter better so this is never her choice.