Never In A Million Years

Never in a million years did I think I would ever write about this subject in my lifetime or that it would include MY family.

After several attempts today was the day! I was going to have the honor of meeting Cassie Shafer the Chief Executive Officer of the Spondylitis Association of America. We had attempted to meet several times but events in my life prevented it from happening. 

On my way to meet her, my phone rang, it was my daughter telling me that THE KIDS ARE SAFE! What the hell was that supposed to mean? 

Our world had just been destroyed, there was an active shooter at my grandchildren’s high school.

Active what? My mind couldn’t even register what she was saying. The whole school is on lock down, that is when I noticed every emergency vehicle within a fifty-mile radius was passing me doing a million hours per hour. I was so shaken I had to pull over on the side of the road. I thought oh my god, what?

Taylor had woken up late and they were just  turning on the main highway to take her to school, police everywhere, roads blocked. (Our home is about 5 minutes or so from the school) Six minutes and we may have lost our sweet girl.

I went on to the local Starbucks to meet with Ms. Shafer, my daughter and granddaughter ended up coming there also. The rest is a blur of shock, anger, anguish, fear, and gratefulness. We had no idea if children we love were safe or worse. Surely no one would be hurt? Ms. Shafer put everything aside and became the caretaker for all of us, she called people she knew to get us information we were not able to find out. She took care of these people (us)she had just met as if they were her own family. I will be forever in debt to her for that selfless act of love. Such compassion, kindness and empathy.

We never did get to discuss what we were planning on.

Today our innocence was destroyed by a seventeen-year-old student who would be responsible for the deaths of children and teachers we love and harming so many others physically and emotionally. 

May these sweet souls rest in peace.

Cynthia Tisdale, Glenda Perkins both teachers who taught my grandchildren. Christian Garcia my granddaughter’s best friend. Jared Black, Shana Fisher, Aaron McLeod, Angelique Ramirez, Sabika Sheikh, Christopher Stone, and Kimberly Vaughn.

Today I am grateful for the compassion of Ms. Shafer, but I am most grateful for children running late for school.