N is for NPR

I drove my son to daycare Monday and saw the other parents crowded around the TV, tears in their eyes. I hadn't seen the news yet. When I did, I gave my son such a long hug that I was late for work.

It just felt like too much. There's been too much lately. Too much tragedy, in America and in the rest of the world.

But this wasn't a natural disaster, it was intentional. One person did this on purpose.

Once I was at work, I just wanted to read the news. Why is that? Why do we want all the information? I couldn't concentrate. I was moody. I snapped at someone on the phone.

Driving home from work a few days later, NPR interviewed family members of the victims.

Stuck in traffic, I listened to a woman describe how close she was to her baby sister, who was 9 years younger than her. It sounded so much like how I would describe my baby sister. And I sat in traffic with and couldn't hold back tears. She was a homebody, like my baby sister, and the concert in Vegas was a special occasion.

I was driving to pick up my son, and I had to sit in the car for a few minutes before I could walk in and speak to other parents without crying.

How many of us are out there crying on freeways before we go in and casually ask about how our kid took their nap?

How many of us are exhausted at work, trying to forget the images we see on the news or conjure up in our heads?

How many of us our sitting by ourselves trying to get it together before we speak to anyone?

All I know is, every time I see my son's funny little face and hear his silly little questions, I want to be a better person. I want there to be a better world.

Alicia and I were talking about how we want our blog to be funny, and honest, and relatable. Sometimes I guess being honest means not being as funny.

Things are hard to explain, hard to justify, hard to put into context.

The best we can do now in these hard times is be gentle with each other. And give extra long hugs.