Update

My last post referred to an incident at my children's school. Well, Thursday has come and gone without incident, much like I suspected it would. The kids are all home, tucked safe in their beds. Most parents kept their kids home from school today. My elementary age daughter said only her and one other girl showed up for class. Each class had similar attendance. Of course they did very little work today and just had fun. There was an obvious police presence in the school, but when I asked my kids how they felt about it, they thought it was interesting. They said the police just smiled and said hello to them whenever they were in the halls.

So now we move past May 8th, and I wonder how parents will cope with the situation. Because the day has passed, will they go back to normal. The authorities still don't know who wrote the threatening notes, and even though we all assume it was a joke that got out of control, we can't be too careful. These are our children we are protecting. Yet parents can't keep their children from school until the culprit is found. That may never happen.

I can't imagine how parents deal with the constant fear some kids must face in schools that are rough and violent on a daily basis. Is this something parents just get used to? I love my safe little town. I still feel like it is one of the best places to raise kids, and that is why I have fought so hard to stay here. Yet, more and more, the world creeps into our community, shaking some of the security we've felt over the years. By the time school starts again in the fall, this will be a distant memory for the kids, but I think this will stick with me for a long time. And every night when I tuck them safely into their beds, I'll say an extra prayer of gratitude and give them an extra hug.