Yesterday I got a letter from my daughter’s school about the coming week’s activities. On there was a lock down drill. A lock down drill! At first I was scared. The thought of my baby having to be locked in a classroom, hiding, trying be quiet while some mentally unstable person roamed the halls terrified me. But then I thought about it. How is it different from when our parents practiced drills for atomic bombs? I pray that my daughter will never have to use the lock down drill. But I know, in the world we live in today, she needs to be prepared. The way the school explained it took away the fear. They used words like unsafe or compromised. They did not click into drama words or words that would scare the children.
Then I sat back and thought about the incidents of last week. On one hand as a parent I want to protect my child in any way, shape or form I can. My instinct is to keep her close and not go to crowded areas. But then the rational part of me kicks in. How is that a way to live? What am I teaching her if we stay inside and live in fear? I’ve just let the terrorist win. And I won’t let them win! Instead I will teach my child to be observant, to know and be aware of her surroundings and to know when to fight back and when to take cover. I will teach her to trust her gut instinct. If something doesn’t feel right, then leave. If someone is acting strange or out of character, report it. I will teach her not to be a victim but to live her life and be observant.
We live in challenging times but we can rise above. As a community we need to band together. We need to take an interest in our neighbors. We need to be connected again. For too long everyone has lived in their own little world not taking into account what goes on around them. We need to stop that mentality and go back to how it used to be. If you see someone struggling, step up and step in. Help them. Can be as easy as helping them load their car with groceries. Or bringing a trash can up from the curb.
This one goes to parents – TALK TO EACH OTHER! Too often I attend my daughter’s school activities, sports and friend’s birthday parties and the parents do not interact. How in the world do you feel comfortable dropping your kid off with people you don’t know? Stay and help. This past weekend I was at a party and half the parents dropped their kids and left. Six parents stayed but did not talk to one another or help. I was the ONLY parent out of 18 children that helped serve pizza, juice boxes and clean up. I also initiated conversations with the parents. My philosophy is, these are the kids my daughter will be with for at least the next year if not longer, I want to know them and their parents because if something happened and I was not there I would hope one of them would step up and help my daughter. I know I would step up and help their kids.
I’m not trying to turn this into a rant but it kinda went there. Bottom line we need to come together in times like these and invest our time in each other. Not hide.