I just couldn't do my usual Friday Funnies...
Today I do not feel like being silly...
I found my eyes welling up this morning while drinking my tea...
And while tending my sweet children...
It has been 8 years since that horrific day.
The day I remember sitting in front of the tv in stunned silence...
Shocked that such a thing could possibly happen to my countrymen.
Things like that don't happen here...
Not here...
But here we are, getting close to a decade later.
Our family has grown by two children...
I have buried two babies and my beloved father.
I have a nephew who is now a Marine.
I have sons in college.
Life has changed...
But in many ways it has not...
Hubby has the same job.
I am still homeschooling.
We still live on the same farm.
We are healthy and happy...
Yet things will never be quite as they were...
While I still feel secure,
It is not in the same invincible way I did before.
I do not look at the world in quite the same way...
I am more cautious, but not paranoid.
The way that we have gone on, to find joy, and peace, and happiness speaks volumes of the resiliency of our country...
The strength of its citizens.
We have not forgotten...not even close.
But we have learned to live with the heartache and still find our lives full of hope and promise.
We were bruised mightily on this day 8 years ago...
But still we remain as determined...
And stubborn...
And strong as ever.
When I look into my children's eyes...those who weren't even born on that day.
I explain to them what happened...
I tell them that they should be proud of the country into which they were born.
They and their older brothers are indeed the lucky ones...
The ones that are free to voice their opinions without fear of arrest...
Ones that are free to get an education no matter their gender...
Ones that can worship as their conscious dictates...
Yes they are free to lives their life as they see fit...
So although I find myself reflecting on this day as a day of sadness and loss, I also find much hope and joy in my heart for the privilege for living here...
A country that keeps on keeping on even after they have been kicked in the gut.
So today I will shed a tear for the victims.
And I will say a prayer for the survivors.
And thank the good Lord for all He has given all of us.
