Lock Down

I was inside the school building when the lock down occurred today at Wayne Community Schools.  I cannot begin to explain the range of emotions that went through my mind when the Principal announced that the school was in lock down over the loud speaker.  However, my first thoughts were, "Thank goodness I am here with my child." And, "We need to keep all of these kids safe."  In the organized chaos that followed as we quickly shuffled to safe zones, I scanned the halls making sure I found my nephews, the exits, self-defense weapons, and protective cover.  My heart was pounding.  I realized how every teacher must feel in these situations.  We had no idea the severity of the threat, but every threat needs to be taken seriously.  We need to keep our kids and educators safe.  To every teacher, staff member, school nurse, or administrator, I thank you.  Thank you for taking care of our kids.  Thank you for putting your life on the line.  Thank you for getting them to safety first.  The school and the Wayne Police Department did an excellent job of communicating today.  We are fortunate to have law enforcement and school administration who exercise great care in keeping our kids safe.

It is hard for me to express in words the feelings those few minutes in lock down produced. My mind immediately went to worst case scenario. I even went so far as to text my husband the, "School in lock down, we are OK. Stay by your phone. Love you!" message just in case. That being said, it causes me great distress that our educators and our children have to be subjected to lock downs.  I am sad that certain threats have created a need for such a thing as a lock down.  The fear it creates forces our children to sacrifice a part of their innocence.  So many questions follow from both the children and adults.  This has become our reality.  Our children deserve better than this.  We all deserve better than this. We need to keep our kids and our educators safe.  Choose kindness, choose love, choose to be a better person.  Life is so special. Life is not all real estate and roses.  Welcome Home.