Thoughts

This weekend I got to escape to a cute little B & B in a nearby town for some much-needed relaxation with Tom. 

I will likely have those pictures up tomorrow (and a bunch of other posts throughout the week I have waiting in the wings,) but I haven't gotten to post about the school shooting in Connecticut, and it feels wrong to post about anything else until I do so.

I won't say much about it, because there's already been overload about it, which makes sense. My thoughts are similar to what has widely already been said.

But I do want to say that when these things happen, (and they have happened plenty of times this year,) the effects of them always shock me. In a good way.

Because the outpouring of support, the sheer amount of people wanting to help in any way they can, even if just through prayers, is astonishing. And it overcomes any one act of tragedy.

It doesn't take the grief away. It doesn't make up for the loss of life. But it shows that there is a lot more good in this world than bad, and while it might spark major political debates, there is always the underlying desire to reach out to those who are hurting the most and show that somebody cares.

It's just unfortunate that it sometimes takes heart-wrenching tragedies to bring that out.

It feels wrong, after something like that, to go on living. To enjoy the holidays. To look forward to tomorrow.

But we have to, because that's what life is about. And we need to live for all those who no longer can, fully embracing the miracle that is every day with the ones we love.

2012 has been a deadly, painful year around the world. Too many tragedies, too many lives lost.

But we're here, on the cusp of a brand-new year. And hopefully, no matter what loss comes along, we experience moments of true and complete bliss as well.