Life of A Writer

Today I was so busy with my writing that I had no idea what had happened at Virginia Tech until my husband returned home from work. During supper, he asked me if I'd heard or read anything about the shooting at Virginia Tech today, and I looked at him in shock and replied, "No, I have been so busy today I haven't had a chance to read through all the press releases." He began to reveal to me what he had heard, and later, I sat down to catch up on the news for today. When I read and heard about the shooting in Virginia, my heart went out to each and everyone involved. At times, while watching Dateline, I found myself wiping away tears. They not only discussed today's shooting, but they also talked about the shooting at Heath High School in 1998. The Heath High School shooting was too close to home for me, because I live close to where that tragedy struck.

Each time I hear about a school shooting I always have a fear and begin to worry about my own children. In fact, I can remember feeling the fear parents fear when they hear of any kind of threatening activity at their child's school. I remember this because not too long ago I received a phone call from my mother. I answered the phone and the first thing she asked was have I been watching the TV. When I told her I had not, she reported that there has been a bomb threat at the school. Not only did I fear for my children at the time, but also I remember feeling sick, and my stomach dropped. It didn't take her long to ease my mind by telling me that everyone from the school was moved to safe location at the time, but the fear never really went away until I knew for certain that my kids were safe.

After she reported the news to me, I immediately phoned my ex-husband to see if he needed me to go pick up the kids, because mom had told me all parents were being asked to pick their kids up from the location they were taken. He assured me he had already taken care of it and they were home. Talk about a relief!

Fortunately, the bomb threat that day was just that, because no bombs were found, but after watching the story unfold about Virginia Tech, I thought back to that day with my children, because in one of the reports they said Virginia Tech had been receiving bomb threats that turned out to be nothing. I'm not certain if there's any truth to that or not, but it makes a parent think and worry. The way things are going in the world now-a-days I'm sure every parent worries about sending their child off to school. Anymore, every time the TV interrupts programming with breaking news my stomach drops and my heart beats faster. There is a little relief when I know my kids are safe, but I always feel for the parents who may be told their child is not, and I start to pray for those families. So, today, my heart and my prayers go out to all the families in Virginia that lost their loved ones as well as to the students, injured and everyone else involved. God bless you all!

Hugs and best wishes,

Misti Sandefur
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Posted by Misti Sandefur, Christian author/freelance writer at 12:03 AM