Through my kids eyes I see the world in such a different way. I cried hard yesterday. I cried because I can’t control what happens in my daughter’s school every day. I cried because at some point my very innocent happy 6 year old (and 4 year old) will come to the harsh realization that she is not always safe in school and that bluntly said kids get shot in school frequently. Both of my girls will have to understand that they need to be prepared if that should happen what will they do? How will they react and is their school well prepared for this nightmare? I have 16 years of this worry. I’ve been asked if I’m going to talk to my daughter about gun violence and the answer is no. I will not proactively try to explain to my 6 year old something I still can’t fully grasp. I will do what I can to protect her behind the scenes and if I’m unhappy with the the outcome then my next decision will come into play. We moved to Wellesley solely based on how great the public school system is. I’m finding that the education has far exceeded my expectation and the community of people I’ve grown to love are also a group that will stop at nothing to keep our kids safe if the administration doesn’t –I’m not saying it has gotten to this point I’m just saying watch out for us “mom bitches” (and dads) ready to go to protect our cubs. We are not messing around.

In the end we are all Parkland and the 25 other towns that went through this. It doesn’t matter how safe we think our town is. It’s not. It can happen to us I just hope all of our eyes remain open, aware, and ready. I know that for the next 16 years I will not stop worrying, wondering, and planning to make my daughters school as safe as it can be. I haven’t quite figured out the how but I’m not going to give up making my daughters feel safe. “Are we next” should never be a question any child should have to ask. No one should be next.