The New Norm

It wasn't that long ago that I took Caitie to school and instead of walking her through the gate, as I did every morning up until then, I let her go on her own. This worked three times, and then it was back to my walking her through the gate as usual. The reason for this is that the third time I let her out on her own, I wasn't able to tell if she actually went through the gate; there was no reason to think she hadn't, but I wasn't sure. I started to panic and decided it was best to call the front office to make sure she got to class okay. When the person in the front office told me I would have to wait until the attendance was received 15 minutes later, I decided I couldn't wait that long and went to the front office and asked in person. A nice lady (not the one i talked to on the phone) called the teacher to make sure Caitie was there, of which she was. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing she was safe in her classroom. How quickly that has changed. I never thought I would have to worry about the safety of her classroom...

Last Friday on my way to pick Caitie up from school, I heard there had been a school shooting. As soon as I heard, I was hoping it wasn't an elementary school. A shooting at any school is bad, but little children facing something so horrifying concerned me, and as soon as I had that thought, it was told that it was an elementary school, and then more details were given. What happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School is tragic... shocking... heartbreaking. My heart goes out to all the families affected by the shootings. Some of the children were the same age as Caitie.

On the way to school this morning I heard on the radio that there was a school lockdown in Scottsdale; there was a report of a man wearing a trench coat holding a gun on the school campus. The kids had to be taken to a nearby church until the campus had been checked out before they could go to school.

It doesn't feel the same when I drop Caitie off at school now... I don't feel as secure as I once did; how safe is she really?

Here is what I saw yesterday morning in the school parking lot... a news crew. Most likely they were at the school to talk about school safety.

Here's what I saw at the school this morning... a police car. I saw a police truck there yesterday. This is the new norm, I guess. It's sad that it's come to this.