Heavy Hearts

Yesterday our Mayor declared a “State of Emergency.” Yesterday, the National Guard was called in. Yesterday fires were started, windows and cars smashed. Buildings destroyed and looted. Loved ones were hurt, and community leaders rose up for peace. To all our family and friends, we wanted to let you know that we are safe. We tucked our little baby into her bed, and played classical music to dull the helicopters, sirens and our own trepidation. We have heavy hearts, but we’re safe.

Yesterday the city was filled with sadness, pain, and anger. A family had to say goodbye and bury their son, and a community was hurting. I can’t even begin to imagine the emotions they needed to process. I can’t even begin to imagine the hurt, pain, and suffering these people have gone through. My heart was heavy hearing the updates yesterday. Peaceful protests, turned riots. Children with so much hurt, so much anger, that they felt it necessary to cause more pain, chaos and suffering because they felt it was the only way to be heard.Yes, my heart was indeed heavy.

It aches knowing all of those young men and women -those adolescents- they were babies once. Much like the little girl I snuggle every night, they were babies once. They have mothers. Like all mothers, we want better for our children. We don’t want to see them struggle, we don’t want them to feel pain, suffering and live in a world of hate. We want a better world for them than we had for ourselves.

I can only believe it starts with our children. All children. We have a duty to them, to teach them what is good and what is right. We have a duty to instill hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. We need to fill them with kindness until they burst. We need them to learn empathy, and compassion for those different than ourselves. To see people instead of race, optimism in place of pessimism, and to love instead of hate. As adults, it starts with us. We need to strive to be better for our children, so this world becomes a better place. It starts with us, and it starts with our children. It starts with our babies for they are our future. In the words of a great man:

Yes, my heart is heavy for the mothers of those children. My heart is heavy for those families in the communities affected. My heart is heavy for the place my child calls her home. Our home. My heart is heavy indeed.