Or is it?

Of course there is bubbling going on. And today the things that wouldn’t matter to anyone else are caused by something that matters to us all. 

I like to think I’m both a simple and complicated person. One who is low maintenance but with a lot of depth that makes me all mysterious. I like to think this because it covers up the obvious: I’m kinda boring. The highlight of my ordinary day is to savor coffee and watch 30 minutes of the morning news. 

We have three kids in this house. Two middle school boys that force me to watch Sports Center each morning and one pre-school girl who would watch Dora and Doc McStuffins 24/7 if I let her. My normal routine is to make a cup of coffee, sit and watch the Top Ten with the boys, see them off to school and quickly change it to the morning news. I like the morning news because it only does short news segments, they are usually lighter in nature, and  other than ESPN and Disney/Nick Channels I don’t watch TV. Facebook is my news source and was yesterday when the explosions went off at the Boston Marathon.

So this morning, I let my coffee get cold (because it is not a savoring kind of morning) while we watched Sports Center coverage of the attacks. The boys are old enough to watch small doses of this (which is really the amount that is appropriate for all ages) but as soon as our 4 year old came downstairs and they announced: “Caution. Graphic images!” we switched to Dora (the Doc was not in at the moment).

And now I’m about to smack that darn Map (Dora “fans” understand that reference). I’m ready for a good smack down because I’m angry. My morning routine has been altered. My kids routine has been altered. And – more to the point –  I’m just now realizing that violence in this world has become routine.

Perhaps it always has been. Perhaps my eyes are now open. But that doesn’t mean I have to accept that this is the way things are or will be. I’m angry about my cold coffee. I’m angry about my morning TV. I’m angry that people trained for this race and didn’t get to finish (if you’ve ever trained for a long race you understand). I’m angry that the winners aren’t getting the recognition they deserve this morning. And I’m devastated that people were killed and injured; that people are mourning today; that Boston had to put a disaster recover plan into action; and that acts of terrorism are always threatening us.

So today, I’m going to enjoy my cuddle and ignore “Map.” I’m gonna love on my kids. I’m gonna make another cup of coffee and enjoy as much as I can. I’m gonna tell someone I love them, smile at people, help my neighbor, and let the anger go. It won’t do any good and loving others will. I’m going to keep the news off of the TV so that I won’t be sucked into the drama. Instead of drama, I will create comedy with silly laughter and even if it is just pretending, I will believe that all is right with the world. Because I know that we can be.

And I’m gonna run. It will help me feel better and it will make sure I don’t forget. Because we live in a world where there is a delicate balance between good and evil. I’m going to try and tip the scale toward good and in doing so, always remember how easy it is to tip the other way.

May you find your own way of dealing with this today and may we find a way at some point to not have to deal with this at all.

Until Everyone Hears,