On Tuesday of this week, it felt like Friday. It was a challenging week at work.  In addition, we had spent a good part of last Sunday in urgent care because, when Peter got up from the sofa that morning, he could barely walk. The diagnosis of an inflamed sacroiliac two days later was not great news.  Add in another trip to the lawyer to sign a bunch of depressing documents.  It wasn’t my best week.

And then on Friday, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings…  Unspeakable tragedy.  Disbelief that this could happen again.  Disbelief that the NRA had “no comment until the facts are in”.  Pleased that the social media lit up in outrage and that residents of DC flocked to the Mall to rally for gun control.

No parent or grandparent can imagine the pain of the loss endured in that sleepy hamlet.  Life is fragile for my generation.  But it shouldn’t be for five-to-ten year olds.

The minor inconveniences of my week no longer seemed to matter.

I could think only of Sandy Hook.